Sharjah fire: Residents tell of smoke in stairwells as 190-metre tower burned

Families left behind passports, IDs and wallets and few appeared to have home contents insurance

Residents told of a desperate 15-minute dash down smoked-filled stairwells as the 190-metre Abbco Tower burned around them.

Tenants paced down thousands of steps with alarms blaring shortly after a fire broke out at 9pm on Tuesday.

Many left behind hard-to-replace documents and ID and fear they have lost many of their possessions.

Fire crews managed to save the building near the Sharjah-Dubai border in three hours but it appeared to have suffered massive damage.

I don't have anything except the phone in my hand and the clothes I am wearing. My wife is pregnant back home – how do I tell her this has happened to me?

"There was smoke coming through the stairs but I had no choice, because I knew it was too dangerous to even think about taking the elevator," Kenneth Onyekwele, who lived on the 10th floor, told The National.

“It would have been quicker to get out but there was an elderly neighbour on the stairs who was having trouble breathing, so I had to assist her to go down the steps.”

Mr Onyekwele, 32, only moved in 10 days ago to cut costs after losing his job as an electrician at Global Village. The attraction closed in March due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Abbco Tower was home to many hard-working families, young couples and single expats.

Studio apartments were let out for as little as Dh17,000, rising to Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 for a two-bed.

Roy Cooper / The National

“I’ve asked if I could get back into my apartment to get my Emirates ID but I have been told to wait,” he said.

“I don’t have anything except the phone in my hand and the clothes I am wearing. My wife is pregnant back home and relying on me to send money – how do I tell her this has happened to me?

“I need my Emirates ID to apply for work but it was in the apartment along with my passport and wallet.”

Filipino Von Segaya, 38, was staying with his sisters on the ninth floor after the hotel he worked at told him to take extended leave.

“It took us about 10 minutes to get down the stairs and out to safety,” he said.

“You could smell the smoke but you couldn’t see it - which was probably worse.

“People were shouting as well which only made it more intense. Thankfully there were no flames on the stairs as things were bad enough.”

Fire safety expert Andy Dean, head of facades at engineering firm WPS's Middle East office, said making sure a building’s safety plan was adhered to could be the difference between life and death.

"Making sure sprinklers are working, batteries in alarms are operating properly and ensuring fire alarms are not going off by mistake - so often that people just ignore them - might sound like low-hanging fruit but they really are crucial,” said Mr Dean.

“There have been evacuations of buildings that have been successful because these things were not ignored.”

Sharjah is to replace hazardous cladding on buildings, with work starting this week. Such cladding was cited as the cause of a major blaze at Abbco Tower in the emirate in 2020. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Abbco Tower in Sharjah after the massive fire. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Abbco Tower the morning after the fire. Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Abbco Tower in Sharjah after the massive fire. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Abbco Tower in Sharjah was gutted in the fire. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The area around Sharjah's Abbco Tower. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The damaged Abbco Tower after a huge blaze on Tuesday night. The building was fitted with cladding that was banned in 2016. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Families watch as flames spread through their building late on Tuesday night. Several surrounding towers were evacuated as a precaution. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National

The fire quickly spread through the building, gutting apartments and sending debris raining down on vehicles below.

Dozens of firefighters and vehicles were at the scene shortly after the fire was first reported about 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Exhausted crews take a brief break and check their equipment.

The fire in Sharjah lit up the night sky.

Buildings in the area are tightly packed together and several were evacuated amid fears the blaze could spread.

Many residents said they did not have home insurance and fear their lost possessions cannot be replaced.

The blaze continued into the night with crews remaining at the scene on Wednesday morning to dampen the building.

Some tenants managed to grab a handful of possessions before fleeing the tower.

Residents watch on as the fire is contained.

The fire in Sharjah was reported after 8.30pm.

Damage to the rear side of the building was not as severe leading some to hope they can recover their belongings.

A police officer collects testimonies from the residents. EPA

Police officers take residents' details as they try to arrange accommodation.

There were more than 300 apartments inside the 48-storey building and many are shared by tenants and families.

Fadlallahie Hassoun cradles his cat after escaping the building.

The building burned for several hours before it was brought under control.

Charity workers from Emirates Red Crescent hand out water and juice and take down details to arrange accommodation.

Families fear they will not be allowed to return to collect belongings for days if not weeks.

Civil Defence forces extinguish the fire. EPA

People stand on a bridge and watch a fire that erupts in a 48-storey residential tower in Sharjah. AFP

Residents of the burning high-rise building look on as fire-fighting efforts continue. EPA