a day ago
Tenants tell of escape as Dubai residential block engulfed by flames
A Dubai resident said she feels lucky to be alive after escaping from her apartment as flames engulfed the apartment building.
Leyna Bouazzi, 22, was awoken by an alarm that she first mistook for a reversing lorry in the early hours of Saturday. She shared footage that showed how rapid the blaze spread, apparently fuelled by cardboard boxes stored on balconies.
Eight flats in the Elysee III Pantheon were damaged by a blaze that began shortly before 4am.
Ambulance, police and Civil Defence personnel were at the scene and tackled the blaze. No injuries were reported. Those affected have been placed in nearby hotels, temporary accommodation, or with friends.
The low-rise building has a mix of short-term holiday lets and longer-term rentals. The extent of the damage was visible by daytime.
All valuables lost
Ms Bouazzi, who is from France and works in recruitment, woke up at about 4am and quickly realised something was wrong.
'I went to bed quite early on Thursday, and I was woken up by red lights and a beeping noise, which I thought was a lorry reversing, but it was the fire alarm,' she said.
'All these stacked boxes had been falling onto my balcony for a month or so, I assumed it was a construction vehicle coming to pick them up.
'I just took a quick look outside and saw the fire.'
When I opened the wardrobe door, the whole glass window exploded. It was really thick glass and exploded into the room
Leyna Bouazzi
Ms Bouazzi, who has been in Dubai for a year and has lived at the Elysee III block for six months, said she lost everything in the fire, including her passport, clothes and personal valuables.
'I took some of my valuables and tried to put them in the wardrobe,' she said.
'But when I opened the wardrobe door, the whole glass window exploded. It was really thick glass and exploded into the room, I was very lucky not to be hurt but it was a huge shock.
'I grabbed the first bag I could, which had my laptop in it, and immediately left the apartment.
'The water came out of the sprinkler system as soon as I walked out of my apartment.'
The building was immediately evacuated while fire crews tackled the blaze.
Residents were allowed back in to recover their possessions at about 9.30am on Friday.
'I've lost all my clothes, all my belongings, all my make-up, skincare and hair products, as well as the family stuff and pictures, absolutely everything is gone,' said Ms Bouazzi.
'There was 30cm of water on the floor in my apartment, so everything was ruined."
I've no food, no shelter or shampoo, there's absolutely nothing to do.
Leyna Bouazzi
'I've no food, no shelter or shampoo, there's absolutely nothing to do. I'm just staying with my friends for now.'
Another resident, who did not want to be identified, was staying in an Airbnb apartment inside the building.
He had been living there for a week when he was woken by a large bang and realised he had to leave the building quickly.
Clean-up underway
On Saturday, the clean-up was underway, with maintenance crews working on the damaged building.
Hamza Khaleeli, a letting agent who manages two apartments, one of which was severely fire-damaged, said: 'I was worried about my tenant and made sure that she reached her hotel room..
'I took her to the police station so she could give a statement about what happened.
'We handed over the apartment fully furnished, so we are trying to understand what is covered by insurance.'
The developer has offered tenants temporary accommodation in an older buildings nearby.
'As I understand it the building itself will be covered by insurance, and we still have warranty on the whole apartment, but not the contents or personal possessions,' Mr Khaleeli added.
Insurance cover
Ali Abu Safieh, the building's legal director, said those affected by the fire were being supported.
'We've provided them shelter, and moved them all to secure their safety to ensure everything is going according to the UAE government procedures," he said.
'We will have to wait until the UAE Civil Defence report, but we think there are from six to eight apartments affected, but also common facility areas.
'Thankfully, no one was injured, and everyone was moved out safely.'
He said, according to some residents, the fire broke out due to a discarded cigarette, 'but we will have to have this confirmed in the report'.
'Our procedures for all our apartments and properties have been covered with the insurance that is appropriate with the regulations,' Mr Abu Safieh said.
