Praise for Dubai firefighter who helped The Address hotel guests

Hasan Ibrahim Al Balooshi, who remains critically ill in a coma, has been hailed a hero by British nurse Julie Bardsley and her daughter Bethan, 26, who works for Emirates.

Hasan Ibrahim Al Balooshi, an Emirati firefighter who helped fight The Address Downtown Dubai fire. He is in a critical condition after suffering from respiratory failure. Courtesy Al Baloosi family

DUBAI // A mother and daughter will never forget the selfless actions of an Emirati firefighter at The Address Downtown hotel.

Hasan Ibrahim Al Balooshi, who remains critically ill in a coma, was hailed a hero by British nurse Julie Bardsley and her daughter Bethan, 26, who works for Emirates airline.

The pair paid tribute to the 29-year-old firefighter, who accompanied them to their rooms to collect their possessions, despite having spent an exhausting two days tackling the blaze and smoke and making sure the building was safe.

“Hasan told us how proud he was to work for Dubai Civil Defence, how he had fought the fire with colleagues and that everyone had escaped,” Mrs Bardsley said.

“We will not forget him. We were traumatised by what happened, but his reassuring, friendly manner made us feel safe. He appeared strong and healthy, although I did notice he had a cough. We didn’t think anything of it given the conditions.”

Mrs Bardsley was fulfilling a long-held dream of seeing in the new year by watching the Burj Khalifa fireworks with her daughter. That dream turned to horror for the hotel guest when she saw smoke billowing from a nearby balcony.

“I was on the 11th floor club terrace,” Mrs Bardsley said. “My daughter had just gone back to our room to get my mobile phone.

“Someone noticed smoke coming from a balcony not too high above us, so we went to look. At that point it was just a little smoke so we weren’t too concerned, but alerted staff.

“Within less than a minute flames were suddenly billowing from the balcony. People screamed and panic quickly spread as people ran to get out.”

In the confusion, Mrs Bardsley ended up going upstairs towards the fire, rather than down to her room on the 10th floor to find her daughter.

As the corridors and stairwells filled with smoke, she became disorientated, fell, and lost her shoes. A member of staff led her to safety.

Mrs Bardsley said no alarms were activated within the building, but praised the selfless actions of the staff who scoured the building to ensure all the hotel’s guests had escaped.

Police officers helped to reunite Mrs Bardsley with her daughter outside, where thousands of people had congregated.

“We stood in the street for a long time not knowing what to do, just hoping and praying everyone had made it out safely,” she said. “The fire continued to burn. It became obvious it was very serious and we would not be returning to the hotel that night. I had no cash, bank card or shoes on my feet.”

Hotel guests and residents were taken to the nearby Al Manzil hotel. Mrs Bardsley and her daughter stayed with friends in Dubai Marina that night and were told that they could return to recover their possessions a day later.

“The smell of the fire was overpowering and the heat was still so intense,” said Bethan, who lives in Dubai. “It was very dark and the ascent up the stairwell was daunting due to the debris and damage.

“It was a frightening experience, and heartbreaking to see a beautiful hotel reduced to ruin.”

Bethan said Hasan carefully escorted them up the stairs and through the fire-damaged corridors. He then kicked in their room door and helped to carry out as many of their belongings as possible.

Hasan’s brother Ali, who is maintaining a bedside vigil at Dubai’s Mediclinic City Hospital, said his family were touched by tales of the firefighter’s bravery.

“I heard about the family that my brother helped, I was moved by his heroism,” Ali said. “He’s a selfless person who went out of his way to help others even when he was feeling ill.”