Sharjah’s Skyscraper Ablaze With Flames Last Night and at Least Seven Injured
Last night around 9:00 pm Sharjah’s Abbco Tower, as well as several surrounding buildings were quickly evacuated after a fire started just when the residents who are fasting for the holy month of Ramadan had finished their nightly meals. Hundreds of people were on the streets watching the firefighters battling the huge blaze that destroyed their 48-story building, the Police and Civil Defence were also at the scene using drones to scan the tall building to ensure no one was trapped. At least seven people suffered minor injuries in the blaze for smoke inhalation, but they were quickly treated at the scene.
Reports stated that the reason behind the incident was “the material used for the buildings’ sidings — an aluminum-composite panel cladding. While some types of cladding can be made with fire-resistant material, experts say those that have caught fire in the UAE and elsewhere were not designed to meet stricter safety standards and often were put onto buildings without any gaps to slow or halt a possible blaze.”
