SHARJAH // Mina Butros fought his way through thick smoke to lead his wife and daughter to safety after a fire spread through their apartment building.
The blaze started in the ground floor Al Shami restaurant at about 8.30pm on Wednesday as Mr Butros was relaxing at home with his family.
The flames quickly spread to the five-storey building above the Arabic eatery, in Al Qasimia neighbourhood, destroying three homes.
Egyptian Mr Butros lost all his possessions in the fire but is thankful his wife and child escaped unharmed.
“There was smoke and screams in the building, I carried my daughter and left the apartment with my wife, leaving everything behind.
“My apartment is directly above the restaurant. I’m waiting to go to the apartment to assess the damage,” said Mr Butros, who has rented a room at a hotel until he decides what to do.
The fire was caused by an electrical problem, said restaurant owner Mohammed Abdullah.
“Civil defence told me their preliminary investigations suggest that it was an electrical failure that started the fire near the gas pipe, which went up in flames,” said the 42-year-old Egyptian.
“The damage in the restaurant was minimal, we will be back in business very soon but we want to see how to fix the problems of the apartments, because the restaurant is not insured.”
Firefighters from Sharjah Civil Defence headquarters, plus Samnan and Muweileh stations helped to tackle the blaze and evacuate the building.
Four people were treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics at the scene, civil defence said.
Resident Mushtaq Mohammed was at home with his three children when the blaze broke out.
“We were sitting at home when the smoke started coming in.
We left the apartment in a hurry and stayed outside the building until we were allowed in shortly after midnight,” said the 42-year-old, who works as a quality manager.
He said civil defence officials allowed the families whose homes were unaffected by the fire back into the building once it was deemed safe.
“Our apartment is safe, but the fire burnt the gas pipes and we are waiting for it to get fixed to resume our lives.”
In October last year, residents in a 32-storey tower block on King Faisal Road were forced to flee their homes because of a fire.
Nineteen people were treated for breathing difficulties, while 200 families were put up temporarily in hotel rooms by Emirates Red Crescent.
In November, a fire swept through the Al Shamsi building in Deira, Dubai, prompting the Roads and Transport Authority to shut down Dubai Metro’s Green Line.
The nearby Movenpick Hotel was evacuated – about 280 guests – as a precaution.
The owner of the building, along with Dubai Police, relocated 48 affected families to hotels.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
