Daughter’s death has left father heartbroken

Father rushed into blaze several times to rescue his family of nine but couldn’t find four-year-old and thought she was safe.

Ismail Khamis is being treated for broken legs and burns in Rashid Hospital, Dubai. Nawal Al Ramahi / The National

DUBAI // Ismail Khamis never thought about the flames or his own safety as he rushed back and forth into his burning home to rescue his family.

But now all he can think about is the daughter he could not save.

The 38-year-old Emirati reacted instinctively when he saw the blaze spreading through his villa in Al Warqa 2 last Friday. There were nine people at home at the time, most of them upstairs in the two-storey house.

“I saw smoke and fire damaging my home. I ran and threw mattresses on the ground floor. Then I helped each family member to get on the mattresses safely,” he said.

“I jumped several times from the second floor to the ground floor until I broke both my legs.”

Four-year-old Ayisha died in the fire. She is believed to have suffocated. Her father is heart-broken.

“I can’t believe that my little girl died in the fire,” said Mr Khamis.

“I was looking around for her and I couldn’t find her. I thought she went outside. I still can’t believe it. I don’t know how all this happened.”

Mr Khamis is being treated for injuries to his legs and burns at Rashid Hospital.

His brother Ibrahim was taking a shower when Ismail knocked loudly on the door and told him the house was on fire.

“I heard screaming. When I opened the bathroom door trying to escape, I found smoke everywhere inside the house and I had to jump from the bathroom window. I jumped from the bathroom and helped my brother to evacuate all my family members,” said the 36-year-old who was treated for smoke inhalation and is being treated at the same hospital as his brother.

Mr Khamis’s six-year-old son, Zayed, suffered burns to his forehead and hands.

The fire is believed to have started after a football kicked by one of the children hit an electrical cable in the living room. Sparks set the curtains on fire and the flames spread quickly through the house.

Mr Khamis urged every family to make sure their homes are safe and all electrical equipment properly maintained to avoid another tragedy.

“I urge everyone to take fire safety measure more seriously,” he said. “It takes a short time to make your home safe from fire, rather than regretting and suffering the consequences.”

Ayisha was buried at Al Qusais cemetery on Saturday.

Civil defence are investigating the cause of the fire.

Maj Gen Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence, said there needed to be more awareness about fire safety in the home.

“A lack of awareness in dealing with fires is the reason behind deaths, particularly in house fires where suffocation is the main cause of death, not the flames as some think,” he said.

“There are accidents that result in grave consequences that might be avoided by taking easy precautionary measures to help reduce losses.”

Maj Gen Al Matroushi also called for lessons in fire safety and prevention to be taught at school.