03 Aug Discarded cigarette blamed for fire
A discarded cigarette butt has been identified by the property managers as the cause of the fire that broke out last week at the 75-storey Sulafa Tower in Dubai Marina.
The blaze started in an apartment on the 61st floor, and quickly spread to eight other floors and while residents were evacuated and given temporary accommodation in the Westin Dubai Mina Resort the emergency caused traffic chaos in surrounding streets.
The fire is not the first in a Dubai Tower to be caused by a cigarette butt. In 2012 the blaze that gutted Tamweel Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers was found to have been caused by a cigarette, probably thrown from a balcony, that ignited rubbish outside the building.
The evacuation of the Sulafa Tower was successful with no injuries reported and the blaze was brought under control within three hours.