Fire put out at Palm Jumeirah apartment, no injuries

A fire that broke out at a 14-storey apartment building on the Palm Jumeirah has been put out, with no injuries, said Dubai authorities.

The fire at the Adriatic building on the Palm Jumeirah broke out late on Monday, and residents were asked to evacuate the building.

By 11.45pm, fire crews battled to put out the fire at the Adriatic building, part of the Palm's upscale Oceana complex.

Several teams of fire crews battled the inferno which engulfed a section of the middle and upper floors of the building. 

At around 6.30pm, there were reports of that a fire at large penthouse on top of the Adriatic building had been extinguished – at least for a few hours.

"I got a knock on the door saying get out, there's a fire," said a British resident  who lives three blocks away, in the same complex. He said this happened about 10.30pm.

Residents said that police had earlier questioned a British man and his girlfriend, who had allegedly started a barbecue at a penthouse apartment.

An Australian expat who lives in one of the other buildings in the Oceana complex said he smelled burning, but after checking his apartment assumed everything was ok.

“About 2 hours later at 10pm, I was just sitting on the couch watching soccer and the security guard bangs on the door, sweating and going ‘get out it’s on fire’.

“It could have spread and so I grabbed the Mac, the passport, chucked it in a suitcase and got out.”

A Lebanese expat who lives in a nearby building with his family said that their family's nanny called him around 7pm to tell him that a fire had broken out.

"At that time it seemed to be under control."

"Security precautions were taken, but with the wind, it just got out of control," he added.

Social media users shared photos of what is believed to be Adriatic building in the Oceana complex on the Palm engulfed in flames.

Dubai Media Office said in a statement that a fire had broken out at the Palm and that competent teams were dealing with the fire and ensuring the safety of everyone.

At around 12.20am, building management officials told residents that it was safe to go back in some buildings. 

Gulf News was then ushered away by the same management officials, who said their announcement was a private matter between residents.

Later, Dubai Media Office tweeted the fire had been extinguished with no injuries.

source: GULF NEWS