Fire breaks out near Dubai's Burj Khalifa
On Monday morning, fire broke out in a 35-story high-rise building near the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, reported Associated Press (AP). The report said that at the time AP reached the spot at 8 Boulevard Walk in Dubai United Arab Emirates (UAE), which houses a series of towers, the fire had been extinguished, leaving the marks of char behind.
Why does this story matter?
The world's tallest human-made structure, Burj Khalifa, is among a series of towers on 8 Boulevard Walk, having a height of 828 meters. The structure got the premier title in January 2010 when Emaar, a state-backed developer in UAE, completed it. Fire in tall buildings in the country has revived the question of safety measures and materials being used.
A massive visible damage to the building
Visuals of the incident recorded when the tower close to Burj Khalifa was on fire show one side of the 35-story tower engulfed in a blaze. Emergency workers brought the fire under control, and no more details on the damage caused have been shared. AP said Dubai police and civil defense "did not immediately acknowledge the blaze" nor did Emaar make a comment.
Towering inferno: Visuals record fire and post fire scene
'2,000 building fires in the UAE last year'
As per the official data quoted by UAE's National News, "Nine persons have died and 89 were injured in 2,090 building fires in the UAE in 2021." It said that data from the Ministry of Interior revealed eighteen persons among the injured were firefighters. The data shows an increase of 8.4% in the number of incidents against the year 2020 that recorded 1,968.
'2022 too recorded several fire incidents'
There has been no respite in fire incidents this year as well as last month, fire broke out at Caesars Restaurant building in Al Nahda 1 residential area, causing major damage. In September, fire incident was reported in a residential building in Barsha Heights, along Sheikh Zayed Road. Visuals from the incident showed the building exterior in flames while residents were being evacuated.
'Spotlight on safety measure in buildings'
Fire incidents in skyscraper-studded Dubai revives questions about the safety measures being taken in buildings. To recollect, while the 2016 new year celebration was on, a major fire incident at 'The Address Hotel' near the Burj Khalifa left several injured. A few months later in July, one of Dubai's tallest residential buildings, the 75-story high Sulafa Tower, caught fire, damaging its 20 floors.
Motor vehicles involved in fire: Study
A case study on fire incidents in Dubai by researchers - Mohammad A. Alqassim and Niamh Nic Daéid - involving an "examination of more than 5,000 incidents," finds the involvement of motor vehicles in more than one-third of the total number of incidents. "Electrical failures were shown to pose the highest risk of accidental fire in residential units," the findings of the research suggest.
