27 Oct Police probe Dubai Marina tower block fire
Police forensic teams have been out taking samples from a Dubai Marina residential tower that was engulfed by flames at the weekend.
The fire on Saturday morning spread from the 9th floor up to the 15th floor, before fire crews were able to extinguish it.
While residents in the lower, unaffected floors have been able to return to their homes, up to 60 residents have been temporarily rehoused in the Tryp by Wyndham hotel in Barsha Heights.
Talking to The National, Junaid Siddiqi, Building Facilities Manager for Marina Diamond 2 said: “All of the fire alarms were activated at the time – the damage is mainly on the balcony areas… The fire sprinklers were activated, so there is some water damage as a result of that also.”
At the time of the fire there was some uncertainty over whether the fire alarms had sounded.
Siddiqi confirmed that repair work to the building would not start until investigations had been completed. It is thought around six of the block’s 260 apartments suffered serious damage with the corridors, lift system and other apartments also being impacted by water damage from the fire pumps.
The forensic investigations are a joint effort by the Dubai Police forensics, science and criminology department, Dubai Civil Defence and the municipality.
It’s likely that experts will consider the risk of flammable building materials as part of their focus. Cladding has been cited as a contributing factor in several major fires over the past few years. Flammable classing was banned from use in new buildings since 2017, but older buildings may still be at risk.