DUBAI // The family of a “bright, friendly and good natured” little girl who was killed when a fire swept through her home have spoken of their grief and pain over her death.
Aisha Ismail, 4, died and five family members were injured in the blaze at the villa in Al Warqa 2.
The child is thought to have suffocated when smoke filled the two-storey house. Nine people were at home when the fire broke out on Friday afternoon. Civil defence is investigating the cause.
Salwa Khamis, Aisha’s aunt, said: “A bright, young girl with her entire future ahead of her died in the house fire, which also left our family homeless and moving from one relative’s home to another.”
Aisha’s father Ismail Khamis, 38, braved the flames several times as he rushed in and out of the house to rescue family members.
He suffered serious burns, and broke both legs when he jumped from a first-floor window. He was recovering in hospital on Sunday.
“When Ismail saw the fire, he placed mattresses on the ground floor and ran upstairs to drop each child on to them. He jumped, taking each child and members of the family outside,” said Ms Khamis.
Aisha’s brother Zayed, 6, suffered burns to his forehead and on both hands, Ms Khamis said.
“The fire started in the living room when the children were playing with a football that hit an electricity wire,” said Ms Khamis. “This caused a spark that spread to the curtains and later to the rest of the house.”
“Ismail asked to see his daughter before burying her but he could not. The whole situation is just terrible,” Ms Khamis said.
Aisha was buried in Al Qusais cemetery on Saturday.
Witnesses reported seeing a plume of smoke and then flames from the villa. Fire-fighting teams from Al Rashidya station arrived within minutes and quickly brought the blaze under control.
Civil defence chiefs have urged people to ensure all electrical equipment is well maintained to minimise the chance of fires in the home.
Last month, 20-year-old twin sisters were killed in a fire at their home in Al Twar in Dubai. The blaze broke out in an extension of the villa where they were sleeping.
A housemaid and a six-month-old baby girl were rescued from the fire. They were both treated for minor injuries.
Last October, Ameera bin Karam, chairwoman of the Sharjah Business Women Council, her sister Sama and their mother died in a fire at their home in Al Qadisiyah in Sharjah.
nalramahi@thenational.ae
