Sharjah: A 35-storey building in the Al Khan area caught fire on Saturday morning, with the fire spreading quickly via the building’s balconies, a Civil Defence official said.
Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Sharjah Civil Defence, said the operations room received an emergency call about a fire in the building at 8.45am.
Residents of Al Huda 2, which consists of five parking lot areas and 30 floors, have been evacuated and no casualties were reported.
The fire started on the third floor and spread quickly to the top of the building from the rear, he added.
Burning debris from a balcony fell on cars parked near the building, damaging five of them.
The civil defence team brought the fire under control. Firefighters from the main headquarters, Samnan and Al Mina took part in controlling the blaze.
The tower has been handed over to the forensic laboratory to determine the fire’s cause.
A witness said: “A faulty fire alarm system in the building, that goes off about once a week, led people to believe it was a false alarm when the alarm went off at the time of the incident.”
Residents complained of no lights in the fire escape on the five parking floors and not enough water on two of the apartment floors.
“If it were a major fire, people would’ve suffocated in their sleep,” said Zakariya Abu Shaba’an, a resident of the building who helped douse the fire.
