Dubai: A minor fire that erupted in the Tiger Tower in Dubai Marina on Sunday left some residents shaken as it is the second fire in the neighbourhood in three days.
Residents of the Tiger Tower in Dubai Marina were evacuated on Sunday morning when a minor fire broke out around noon on the 53rd floor of the 73-storey tower. The fire was brought under control within minutes.
The tower is located just across the 87-storey Torch Tower, which went up in flames on early Friday, the second such fire that happened in the building in two years.
New fire in dubai marina. Tiger tower. Close to the Torch. Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/qNBbyNF4Lx
— Massimiliano Picchi (@maxpicchi) August 6, 2017
A Civil Defence spokesperson told Gulf News that the Tiger Tower residents were safely evacuated before the fire was controlled. According to the official, the fire started in the balcony of a flat.
No injuries were reported, he added.
One resident, Mary Soliman, who lived on the 26th floor, said she smelled a hint of smoke on the way down the emergency stairwell.
“It smelled of smoke and there were bits of glass on the floor. But then when I came out, not everyone heard the fire alarm. I came downstairs and I saw security and rescue personnel. I spoke to reception and they confirmed the fire and that they were trying to get it under control,” the Australian resident told Gulf News.
A big thanks to the Civil defense for the fast react and to solve the problem at #tiger tower very quickly!
— Massimiliano Picchi (@maxpicchi) August 6, 2017
Soliman said she couldn’t take the incident lightly as this is the third fire she’s known since living in the area.
“It’s a little bit scary. I’ve been in this apartment for just over a year. Obviously, when I came downstairs, I was shocked and I had to ask, “Really, there’s fire on my building?’ And obviously another fire happened here (Torch Tower) the other day. We get quite anxious and quite scared.”
“I used to live in the Sulafah Tower and there was a fire there [in 2016] as well. But I wasn’t living there at that time, I just remember a fire erupted there, when I moved out here. It’s a bit scary.”
Sulafa Tower is just a building away from Tiger Tower but on the same block.
Another resident, who requested anonymity, said: “I thought the fire was outside the building. So I looked out of my balcony to check on the Torch Tower across us and realised the fire was on my building,” the Asian resident said. “I panicked because these fires happened just a few days apart. It’s really frustrating.”
Other residents, however, brushed the incident off.
“The fire happened on the 53rd floor and I could see smoke on the hallway so I evacuated the building,” a Western expat said.
Another resident said: “It was just a minor fire. Yes, we were evacuated. But everything was back to normal after some time.”
