Fire crews rescue trapped residents from Abu Dhabi building fire

A fire broke out in the Sun and Sand Sports building on Hamdan Street early on Wednesday evening.

Police are investigating the cause of a fire that led to the evacuation of the Sun and Sand building on Hamdan Street. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // A fire broke out in the Sun and Sand Sports building on Hamdan Street on Wednesday evening.

No injuries were reported, but the building was damaged and fire crews had to break several windows to rescue residents.

The entire building was evacuated, including the Sun and Sand Sports shop, which remained closed for the rest of the evening.

The fire started in the kitchen of an eighth-floor apartment, according the building’s management.

“There’s still a lot of smoke smell in the building. It’s too hot to air our apartments out,” said Mohammed A, a resident who lives on the fourth floor of the building.

Some residents on the affected eighth floor were trapped and had to be evacuated by Civil Defence personnel through the windows of their flats.

“It was a chaotic scene with all of us stranded outside on the sides of the road and a few having to escape through the window with the police’s assistance,” Mohammed said.

The three-bedroom apartment sustained damage in its kitchen, maid’s room, bathroom and hallway.

The fire was put out at about 8.30pm and residents were allowed to return home, at intervals, once Civil Defence had declared the building safe.

Abu Dhabi’s Security Media released a video on its Facebook page of members of its Civil Defence team moving residents.

Abu Dhabi Police are investigating the cause of the fire.