Dubai: A month after a massive fire gutted the Al Shamsi building on Salah Al Deen street in Deira on November 23, the building is set to be demolished.
Though, the building is still under investigation and the cause of fire yet to be ascertained, a spokesperson for the real estate firm managing the building said the three burnt blocks of the five-storey structure is beyond repair.
“We are waiting for reports by Dubai Police and Civil Defence. The building is still under investigation. Cause of the fire is still not known. But we are aware that the damage caused by the fire is beyond repair and we are planning to demolish it once the investigation is over,” said the spokesperson.
Located opposite Muraqqabat police station, the 40-year-old building that comprises six blocks, three of which are safe, is the oldest standing edifice on the busy road.
“We haven’t had any information from the authorities after the first few days. Initially, some people were allowed to enter the building and retrieve whatever stuff possible. After that the Civil Defence officials allowed nobody as the building is deemed unsafe and some sections of it are too badly damaged,” he added.
The fire destroyed at least half of the 48 apartments in the building, rendering around 400 residents homeless.
However, owner of the ill-fated building has offered temporary accommodations to 200 affected residents who had nowhere to go. The temporary accommodations are located at a brand-new building in Hor Al Anz, near Al Talal supermarket.
The other half of the residents have been taken care of by the firms, who had staff accommodations at Al Shamsi building.
“The temporary accommodations are valid for two more months after that the tenants have to make their own arrangements. We are working with all the tenants to clear their papers and all rent-related issues will be duly sorted out,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the tenants who were temporarily relocated to a new building in Hor Al Anz thanked the building owner and all the community workers for their help.
“We thank the owner and all those who helped us with clothes, beds, blankets and other household stuff. We would have been on the road without their help,” said Elsa, whose apartment was totally burnt.
Another resident Maria said: “My roommates and I, we lost everything. We couldn’t salvage anything even later because the authorities didn’t let us in because our flat was totally gutted and it was deemed too dangerous. But thanks to all the people who helped us we are managing a decent life.”
