ABU DHABI // A day after a blaze tore through the sixth and seventh-floor apartments of a residential building on Al Falah Street, victims were left in despair when they returned to salvage what was left of their belongings.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire that residents believe was caused by a discarded cigarette butt thrown on to the balcony on the seventh floor.
The acrid smell of smoke filled an empty room that Rashid Ettol, 30, shared with his two brothers Zainudeen, 40, Najmal, 26 and their sister’s husband Hamza, 45, for the past three years.
“We’ve lost all our clothes and two laptops in the fire,” said Mr Etoll as he watched maintenance staff clear the debris and remove the soot from the ceiling and walls. “Our AC unit has been badly damaged.”
He and his brothers spent the night at another brother’s home in Baniyas after the fire, which broke out at 3pm on Sunday.
“My brother Zeinudeen and I were sleeping and one of our flatmates knocked on our door to tell us our balcony was on fire,” Mr Ettol said. “We tried to put the fire out with buckets of water.”
Civil Defence teams arrived within five minutes and managed to contain the blaze in less than an hour.
The adjacent room, occupied by four or five Indians, was extensively damaged. Heavily charred mattresses, two small refrigerators and other personal belongings littered the floor.
“The men in this room now plan to move to Mussaffah but my brothers and I plan to return here after two days, when it’s safe for us to do so,” Mr Ettol said.
Two Bangladeshi cleaners, Mohammed Salim and Mohammed Soybs, both 28, were on hand to help residents clear debris from the balcony.
“Inshallah, the two rooms will be ready by tomorrow or on Wednesday,” Mr Salim said.
“We’re also busy cleaning the two other rooms downstairs on the sixth floor.”
Abdul Hameed, 50, from Pakistan, who has lived in the apartment buildingfor three months, now plans to move to Mussaffah.
“I lost most of my clothes, my 32-inch TV and speakers but we’re still lucky, no one was injured,” he said.
His roommate, Inayat Ullah, 53, who works for Etihad Airways’ transport department, does not plan to move out.
“This has been my home for nine years,” he said. “Accidents like these happen.”
After having returned from night duty on Sunday morning, he was sleeping when the fire broke out in the seventh-floor apartment.
“I just picked up my passport and ran outside,” he said. “I stayed in my friend’s home last night and returned this morning to check on my belongings.
“I didn’t lose anything but our AC needs to be replaced.”
Fazal Rahman, 39, a company driver from Pakistan, who stays in the adjacent room, said he was not as fortunate.
“We lost most of our clothes, bath towels, carpets and other personal belongings,” he said.
“Our AC is badly damaged and isn’t working so I’ll need to spend a few nights at my friend’s house.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
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Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai