Dubai Marina fire: No injuries after early morning tower blaze

The fire spread from the ninth floor to the 15th, Dubai Civil Defence said

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Firefighters have tackled a blaze at a residential tower in Dubai Marina.

The incident at Marina Diamond 2 in the Sayorah Street area was first reported shortly before 4am on Saturday.

Police closed the roads around the scene and residents were taken to safety, with no injuries reported, Dubai Civil Defence said.

We could smell the smoke when we went out into the corridor. We took the stairs down as fast as we could

Julia, Russian tourist

Firefighters from Marina station were joined by crews from Emirates Martyrs and Al Barsha stations. They brought the fire under control at 5.24am.

The building was secured by 7.15am and handed over to experts to investigate the cause of the fire.

A statement from Dubai Civil Defence said the fire spread from the ninth floor to the 15th.

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Marina Tower fire broke out on the ninth floor. Photo: Dubai Civil Defence

Dubai Police’s Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Centre provided accommodation for residents whose apartments were damaged in the fire.

A video showed flames spreading on the upper floors of the mid-rise tower, which has about 260 apartments and is 60 metres high.

Adnan Shauqat, a father-of-three who lives in the building, told The National: "It's 3.30am and we heard some shouting from downstairs. We woke up and came downstairs [and left the building].

"There was no fire alarm...we came down immediately and we've been here since 3.30am."

Emergency services were seen handing out water and provisions to people still in their nightwear.

Footage of the fire at #Dubai's Marina Diamond 2 tower around 3.30am today. Latest here - https://t.co/wBHz4GKgH5 pic.twitter.com/uQqRMCLt6J

— Rory Reynolds (@RoryReynolds) October 23, 2021

When asked about the apparent failure of the building's fire alarm to sound, a civil defence spokesman said: "This issue is being investigated."

Julia, from Russia, was renting an Airbnb apartment on the 11th floor this weekend. She was woken up by someone banging on the door.

She grabbed her luggage, out of concern she may not be able to return, and took the stairs to the ground floor.

“My husband and I were sleeping and we heard a lot of noise," she told The National.

"We could smell the smoke when we went out into the corridor. It was very scary and we all were in a state of panic. We took the stairs down as fast as we could.”

Parakshit Shah, from India, lives on the fourth floor.

“I was deep asleep and woke up to the neighbour knocking on my door," he said.

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"He told us there was a fire and I quickly grabbed the luggage I had already packed for my flight tomorrow and we ran down the stairs.

"Everyone was running and there was no time to even think about what was going on."

Residents of the undamaged apartments on lower floors were allowed to return shortly before 8am on Saturday.

The upper floors, including the 14th and 15th, are damaged and waterlogged.

The building's management company, Prime Association, has not made any statement.

Marina Diamond 2 is a 15-storey residential building that was constructed in 2005, with the first residents moving in in 2006. It contains a mix of studios, one and two-bedroom apartments.

The Marina Diamond project was one of the Marina's earliest developments, with the six-tower complex containing 1,300 apartments.

A series of residential fires in Dubai and Sharjah have prompted investigations by the government into the use of potentially flammable cladding.

Last year, authorities in Sharjah said they were investigating the use of flammable cladding, which was banned from use in new buildings in 2017.

That came after a major fire in Sharjah's Abbco Tower in May 2020.

Damage to the upper floors of Marina Diamond 2 is visible at daybreak. Sarwat Nasir / The National

Updated: October 25, 2021, 4:40 AM