Kuwait City: Twelve teams, consisting 180 firefighters, put out a massive fire that broke out in an under-construction building in Sharq area on Friday, Kuwait Fire Public Relations Department said on Friday.
The fire that broke out in the afternoon quickly spread in the construction area covering 380,000 square metres fanned by high winds. Three firefighters were injured in the efforts to put out the fire.
A statement from the department said the biggest challenge firefighters faced was to prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings or areas that were nearby due to strong winds. The fire affected eight nearby buildings also. However, firefighters, including teams from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), after receiving a call about the incident at 3.30pm immediately arrived on the scene and began operations to contain the conflagration. It took the firefighters several hours to put out the fire.
The blaze resulted in huge material damages, but a final estimate on the losses will be known only later, the statement said, adding that an investigation is on to ascertain the cause of fire.
For his part, the Director of Public Relations and Information at the fire department, Colonel Khalil Al-Amir expressed his thanks and appreciation to all who participated in putting out the fire, including those from the Interior ministry, firefighters from the National Guard, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Information.
— Kuna
