Ajman: An Egyptian man and his two grandchildren died from suffocation after a fire broke out in an apartment in Ajman around noon on Thursday, officials said.
The fire gutted the apartment on the fourth floor of the building in Al Rashidiya area, Brigadier Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, director general of Ajman Civil Defence confirmed to Gulf News.
The tragic incident comes a little more than two weeks after eight members of an Emirati family died of suffocation when their villa caught fire in Abu Dhabi on October 2.
The latest Ajman incident was reported to police by a passerby who saw smoke coming out of the apartment.
The Civil Defence immediately despatched firefighters to the scene.
As they entered the apartment, they found it engulfed by smoke which caused the death of the 69-year-old grandfather, his two grandchildren, a four-year-old boy and his two-year-old sister. One of the rooms was gutted.
Bodies of the three deceased were taken to Khalifa Hospital.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known even as a forensic team took over the site for investigation.
Initial reports suggested the fire might have started from a power source.
“The fire gutted an apartment on the fourth floor of the six-storey building and smoke spread in the whole building,” Brig Al Shamsi said.
He said quick response from Ajman Civil Defence and Ajman Police averted a bigger disaster and saved dozens of lives as they managed to quickly contain the blaze.
Police cordoned off the area as a rescue team evacuated the residents.
Colonel Khalid Mohammad Al Nuaimi, deputy director general of police operations in Ajman Police, said that it was too early to pinpoint the cause of the fire.
He did confirm the fire began in the family’s flat located on the fourth floor.
Ajman community police provided full support to the deceased’s family including shelter.
Brig Al Shamsi and Col Al Nuaimi offered condolences to the families of the deceased.
He urged owners of residential buildings to ensure maintenance of fire alarm systems to guard against further loss of life.
