Sharjah on weekend fire alert after another warehouse burns

There is no end to weekend fires in Sharjah. The number of warehouses destroyed by fire in Sharjah’s industrial areas has increased and surprisingly most of them happen on weekends or after working hours.

Emirates 24/7 has traced at least eight such fires, most of them in the industrial areas of the emirate.

Most of the fires broke out in warehouses storing garments, automobile spare parts and furniture.

The fire at the Al Tayer residential tower near Al Nahda Park in Sharjah  also occurred on Saturday.  Property worth several hundred thousand dirhams was destroyed and hundreds of families had to vacate the 43-storey building following the fire that started at around 2:30am.

In the latest such incident, electronic goods worth several hundred thousand dirhams were destroyed following a fire in Sharjah’s industrial area on Friday.

The fire started at around 9:30am and destroyed nine warehouses located in Industrial Area No.6, behind the Macro Emirate supermarket. The warehouses were used to store used electronic products and automobile parts. Some warehouses even had chemical and petroleum products, which caused the fire to spread faster.

Among those completely destroyed are units of Al Shamil Used Electronics Devices, Narita General Trading, Nas Auto Spare parts, New Zealand Electronics, Team Electronics etc. All warehouses were owned by Pakistani nationals.

Sharjah Civil Defence immediately rushed to the spot and the fire was contained within a few hours. “No one has been injured in the incident. We are still trying to ascertain what could have caused the fire,” said a senior civil defence official. Sharjah Civil Defence was assisted by units from Ajman and Dubai.

Officials from the Forensic Laboratory in the General Directorate of Sharjah Police are working towards determining the cause of the incident.

Sharjah Civil Defence had recently intensified inspections of warehouses  in industrial areas following a fire earlier this month.

Fourteen warehouses and workshops that stored furniture and garments and décor, apart from auto-repair workshops, were burnt in a fire that started around 8pm on Thursay November 1  in Industrial Area No.12.

Following the inspection, Civil Defence officials had said they had detected violations of fire safety rules by industries and had initiated measures to install safety mechanisms.

Inspectors issue a warning the first time they detect a lack of safety standard. At the second instance, a fine is imposed and the establishment is closed down if it is caught offending the third time.

Earlier incidents

Saturday November 10

The latest incident was on Saturday, November 10 when nine warehouses were burnt down in Sharjah’s Industrial area six.

Emirates 247 identified several other similar incidents where commercial establishments have caught fire on weekends and after work hours. No one was injured.

Thursday November 1

Fourteen warehouses and auto repair workshops were destroyed by fire in Industrial Area No.12 behind the National Paints roundabout at around 8pm. Furniture, garments and decor warehouses and auto-repair workshops were destroyed. The presence of flammable materials had contributed to the intensity of the fire. No causalities were reported.

Saturday October 14

A fabric warehouse in Industrial Area No. 7 was completely destroyed by fire on Saturday November 1 at 12:30pm. No casualties were reported.

Saturday September 29

Emirates 24/7 reported about a fire at a warehouse in Al Sajja industrial area in Sharjah on Saturday September 29.

Quoting the Arabic daily newspaper Al Bayan, the report said the warehouse contained petroleum products. Civil Defence had to work extremely hard against the strong winds to contain the fire from spreading to the neighbouring warehouses. No one was injured.

Saturday September 1

Two separate fires were reported in warehouses and a factory in Sharjah Industrial Areas No. 17 and 18.

In the first incident, four warehouses in Industrial Area No.18 that stored clothes, garments and lubricants were burnt down. The fire started at around 1pm. No one was injured.

In the second incident, five warehouses that stored mattresses and a garage in Industrial Area No.17 were destroyed in the fire that started at around 3pm. Five trucks were also destroyed when the fire spread to the garage. No injuries were reported.

Thursday  June 7

Fire broke out at around 7am in an industrial unit in Sharjah that had stored oil barrels and tanks in an open yard. Civil Defence had to take extra precautions to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby warehouses and a labour camp.

Saturday June 2

In another early morning fire,  a warehouse in Sharjah's Industrial Area 6 caught fire at around 3am. No one was injured.

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