Multiple skyscrapers have been struck by similar fires across the United Arab Emirates in recent years. “Now we are watching and pray to God it won’t come to our room.” “I never thought it would happen,” he said as he watched flames lap up his building from the street below. He knew the building had working smoke detectors, he said, because only two days earlier the staff had alerted him that sensors showed something was burning on his stove. The building’s Dubai-based developer, Al Sayyah and Sons Investment Co., could not be reached for comment.Įlias Kalash, a Syrian resident of the tower, said he smelled smoke and saw burning embers falling off the building shortly before the fire alarm went off. It says the tower has 76 stories and ranks as the 21st tallest building in Dubai, which boasts several of the world’s highest residential towers. The tower opened in 2010, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. There were no casualties and the fire was extinguished within three hours, according to the Dubai Media Office. Others sprayed the building’s lower floors, though they appeared unable to reach the flames. She said the flames “spread like wildfire” but said emergency crews did a good job of getting it under control.įirefighters could be seen on scorched balconies trying to reach out to extinguish the fire. “It was really scary,” said Nora Maki, who lives across the street. Hundreds of Marina residents fled to the cavernous streets around the tower as firefighters raced to the scene. The afternoon blaze began several stories off the ground of the 945-foot (288 meter) Sulafa Tower and spread rapidly as hot wind gusts fanned the flames. It was the latest in a string of dramatic infernos that have raced up the sides of skyscrapers in and around the Mideast’s commercial hub, which is home to the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.
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