A fire broke out early Monday at a 35-story high-rise in downtown Dubai near the world’s tallest building, lifting the side of the structure in the same manner seen in other blazes fueled by flammable cladding material. A resident at 8 Boulevard Walk told The Associated Press that the high-rise has siding that officials planned to replace after a similar blaze tore through an iconic tower on New Year’s Eve in 2015. However, that siding was not replaced throughout the building, he said. resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Emaar Properties, the giant state-backed developer behind 8 Boulevard Walk and the nearby Burj Khalifa, which towers over the burned-out high-rise, did not respond to requests for comment. Neither does the city-state’s Dubai Media Office. More than 12 hours after the fire broke out, Dubai police and civil defense officials had yet to acknowledge the inferno that saw fire engines and rescue vehicles surround the building. Fire investigators could see an AP reporter at the scene, peering through balconies and pointing out fire damage. A letter sent by Emaar to the building’s occupants said a “thorough investigation is underway” into the fire and that residents could only be allowed back in after authorities gave the all-clear. The fire spread to one side of the building, while the other sides appeared untouched. The damage was particularly severe around the fourth floor. The fire started around 2:30 a.m., with housekeepers and building guards running through its floors to check the apartments on each floor, the resident said. It was unclear if anyone was injured in the fire. While some types of cladding can be made with fire-resistant material, experts say that those that have caught fire in Dubai and elsewhere were not designed to meet stricter safety standards and were often installed in buildings without any breaks to slow or stop a potential fire. . This includes the 2017 Grenfell fire in London which killed 72 people in the biggest fire loss on British soil since the Second World War. There are now new construction regulations in Dubai regarding investment. In 2017, a civil defense official said those with flammable cladding on their buildings would “have to replace it” according to normal maintenance schedules, but it remains unclear whether this is required in this city-state, one of seven that make up the authoritarian United Arab Emirates. On New Year’s Eve 2015, a fire broke out at the Address Downtown, one of the most luxurious hotels and residences in Dubai near the Burj Khalifa. About 15 people were injured in the fire and evacuation. Dubai Police ended up blaming exposed wiring for the fire. In September this year, Orient Insurance lost an appeal to pay 1.25 billion dirhams (over $340 million) to Emaar over the fire after it tried to blame the developer. The ruling said the building’s cladding may have contributed to the spread of the fire, but was not the cause. Emaar shares rose slightly on Monday to close at 6.23 dirhams ($1.70) per share on the Dubai Financial Market.
