Fujairah: Two Emirati children, a brother and sister aged three and four, died in a fire at a house in Fujairah on Monday, official sources said.
The siblings were identified as Hour, 3, and Fahd, 4.
The fire broke out in a house in Fujairah's Madhab district.
Brigadier Ali Al Tunaiji, Director General of Fujairah Civil Defence, told Gulf News that the operations room received a call at 10.35am on Monday, saying there was a fire at the location.
When firefighters rushed to the site, the two children had already died due to smoke inhalation, Al Tunaiji said.
They were on the second floor sleeping in a room at their grandmother’s place while their family members were on the first floor and were not aware of the tragedy.
A family member told Gulf News that the children were inside the room when the fire broke out and they were heard screaming and calling for help. An aunt discovered the incident after she went out of her room to find out what happened to the kids.
She tried to opened the door to release the children but her attempt was in vain as the door was locked and could not be opened.
The grandmother then went out seeking for help from neighbours who, in turn, called police operations room.
Under the bed, motionless
When the rescue team arrived, they broke the door locks and found the two kids under the bed — but they were motionless.
The parents of the children were at work at the time of the incident. They had left the duo at their grandmother’s place before going to work. Their bodies will be handed over to their family for burial.
As of late Monday, the cause of the fire was yet to be established. Brigadier Al Tunjaiji urged all house owners to install smoke detectors as they were essential in dealing with such tragedies.
He also urged home owners to monitor electric appliances and power connections, especially during summer. He advised people to avoid running ACs continuously during summer.
Funeral held on Monday after Asr prayers at Al Zahraa Mosque and they were buried in Madhab cemetery.
Initial investigation suggested that short circuit caused the fire. Police investigations are ongoing.
