Workers handed jail terms after accidentally burning down two Dubai warehouses

DUBAI // Two men caused two warehouses to burn down with their unsafe storage of chemicals, a court has heard.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours was told the Indian warehouse custodian S S, 23, and his compatriot S F caused Dh4.8 million in damage to the properties.

Prosecutors say they ignored safety precautions by placing the chemicals on a wooden shelf.

Early on May 9, 2012, police were called to reports of a fire at the warehouses.

Investigations found that a bottle of hydrogen peroxide had leaked, then mixed with another chemical, causing a reaction that started the fire.

The facade of a third warehouse was also destroyed in the ensuing blaze.

M A, 60, an Egyptian forensic expert with Dubai Police, told the court that hydrogen peroxide must be stored in cool conditions and away from other chemicals.

“The chemicals alone do not cause a fire and are not flammable materials, but when stored together in inappropriate conditions they can create a fire,” the expert said.

S A, who works for the company that operated the warehouse, testified that the chemicals were not flammable if mixed and must have come in contact with another source of fire.

Two other employees told the court that they were returning to work after Al Fajr prayers when they saw flames coming from a rubbish bin next to a pile of wooden planks at the warehouse.

But the forensics expert said: “This is not true. The cause of the fire according to our investigations and tests is the chemical reaction resulting from storing two chemicals together in unsafe conditions.”

S S denied the charge in court, while S F is still at large.

Both were sentenced to three months in jail, with S S immediately launching an appeal against the verdict.

It be heard at the Dubai Court of Appeal on September 22.