Fire reported in Sharjah industrial area

A fire broke out at a warehouse for electrical equipment in Industrial Area Six in Sharjah on Friday afternoon, but no injuries were reported, according to Civil Defence teams.

Fires were also reported in Ajman and Jebel Ali on Friday.

Motorists travelling towards Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman reported seeing thick black plumes of smoke billowing from the gutted building in an afternoon that already looked gloomy due to unusual June wind and heavy rain in several parts of the country.

Colonel Sami Khamis Al Naqbi, director general of Sharjah Civil Defence, told Gulf News that they received a call at 3.48pm and immediately sent crews from Samnan, Muwaileh and Al Mina stations to the scene.

Police cordoned off the area to allow Civil Defence to bring the fire under control quickly, but it was not immediately clear what triggered the blaze.

Thanks to Civil Defence’s timely response the flames were stopped from spreading to three other warehouses in the vicinity.

Al Naqbi confirmed there were no injuries in the warehouse, though he said there was a great deal of damage to three containers housing motorbikes that were all gutted by the flames.

Wind, rain and cloud added to the dark skies over Sharjah and helped spread the smoke low over the emirate, making it visible from all parts of the city and even from parts of Dubai and Ajman.

Firefighters remained at the scene until late on Friday as they worked to cool the site before it was handed over to forensic teams to determine the cause.

Meanwhile, Sharjah Civil Defence appealed to community members to stop crowding around such scenes as it impedes the movement of emergency vehicles and poses an additional and unecessary risk to life.

Details to follow.