Fire destroys carpet warehouse

The warehouse of a carpet factory in the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone is destroyed in a fire.

SHARJAH // The warehouse of a carpet factory at the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone was destroyed in a fire yesterday morning. No injuries were reported. The owner said he would need a week to estimate the financial loss. Witnesses said dozens of men working in the area rushed to the fire at the Al Zahra Carpet Factory warehouse and helped the Civil Defence prevent it from destroying others nearby. The blaze began at about 9.45am and engulfed the warehouse within minutes

"I only saw smoke, a lot of black smoke," said Sundaran Rahavan, 55, a construction worker at the Free Zone. "A little after, the smell came, and it smelled like oil." When the Civil Defence arrived, workers from the airport and other private companies were helping security move flammable objects away from the warehouse. "What we saw is that it didn't start in a small place. "It was like the whole warehouse burst into fire in a minute," said Talal al Midfa, the human resources and administration manager at the Free Zone.

"Thanks to the Civil Defence for their quick response; in 45 minutes or an hour they got the most dangerous part contained." Wassem Ahsan, 42, the managing director of the factory, thanked Free Zone workers and the Civil Defence for limiting the destruction. @Email:[e-mail]