A massive fire was reported in the early hours of Monday morning at the 8 Boulevard Walk Tower in Downtown Dubai.
Located near the Burj Khalifa, the 35-storey tower was ablaze and was extinguished just before 4am. The building seems to have extensive fire damage on the façade spanning through all floors.
— Arabian Business
The cause of the fire is unknown but appears to have been affected by the structure’s cladding, which residents told The Daily Mail was supposed to be replaced following a New Year’s Eve blaze in 2015 that caused significant damage to the nearby Address Downtown Dubai hotel.
1/ #Dubai
The Emaar skyscraper of the largest developer in Dubai partially burned down
The fire started early this morning near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. pic.twitter.com/frFKZI1zu9
— David Kime (@CyberRealms1) November 7, 2022
Similar incidents prior to this have raised concerns for the safety of high-rises in Dubai completed before 2012 during a torrent of construction in the capital. According to some reports, at least 500 buildings in the UAE are susceptible owing to the combustibility of their cladding, which contains the same thermoplastic material likely to have fueled the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. No injuries have been reported.
This is now the second large fire to occur in Dubai this year following an April blaze at the Swissotel Al Murooj Hotel, which thankfully did not result in casualties despite the challenges inherent in evacuating a structure of its size.
No Comments
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.