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Massive fire breaks out at 35-floor skyscraper near Burj Khalifa in Dubai
A massive fire broke out at a 35-story high-rise in downtown Dubai near the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, on Monday. Videos of the blaze doing rounds on social media show the fire racing up the side of the building apparently fueled by flammable siding material.
The structure, 8 Boulevard Walk, was developed in 2008 by Emaar Properties, one of the largest real-estate companies in the world and a giant state-backed developer that built Burj Khalifa.
In the now-viral videos, the fire can be seen racing up one side of 8 Boulevard Walk, while other sides appeared untouched. The damage appeared particularly intense around the fourth floor.
Towering Inferno in Dubai: Energy Firm's High-Rise Licked by Flames near Burj Khalifa
The building belonging to energy giant Emaar caught fire on Monday morning in central Dubai
It is located very close to the world's tallest skyscraper.The blaze is reportedly now under control pic.twitter.com/1jrCZLOyCj
— 🕯Jacob🇷🇺Charite 🕯 (@jaccocharite) November 7, 2022
The fire started around 2.30 am, with housekeepers and building guards racing through its floors to check apartments on each floor, the resident said. Dubai Civil Defense said it arrived at the scene five minutes after the operations room was alerted of the fire at 3.11 am. It added that all the building’s residents had been safely evacuated.
Meanwhile, a letter sent by Emaar to tenants of the building said “a thorough investigation is underway” into the blaze and that residents only can be let back in after authorities give the all clear.
A resident at the 8 Boulevard Walk told The Associated Press that the high-rise has cladding that officials planned to replace after a similar blaze tore through an iconic tower on New Year’s Eve in 2015. However, that cladding was not replaced across the entire building, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Dubai Media Office later released a statement quoting a Dubai Civil Defense spokesperson who said that Dubai high-rises comply with strict structural and fire safety standards that conform to international codes and regulations.
