Family narrowly escapes house fire in Um Al Hassam

A family including three children and their pets were able to miraculously escape a raging house fire without injuries on Friday evening in Um Al Hassam. A resident of the apartment, Ali Mohammed Akbar Khan’s parents who were visiting the family from India were also present in the house.

Civil Defence authorities who responded to the fire within six minutes of receiving alert were on the scene for an hour and a half to tackle the fire, which was confined to the apartment. No adjacent apartments or building were damaged by the blaze. There were no injuries as a result of the fire broke out on the third floor of the residential building and the cause remains under investigation. All family members, including pet animals, residing at the home were outside by the time the fire crew reached.

All gone in 15m

Recalling the horrific incident, resident of the apartment, Ali Mohammed Akbar Khan, General Manager at AJM Kooheji told Tribune: “The entire house went up in flames within 15 minutes, everything is destroyed. All we have left are the clothes we are wearing.” Thanks to Khan’s grandmother, the family was able to evacuate the building on time.

Khan’s grandmother was praying in one of the rooms when she noticed smoke coming from near to an air-conditioning unit. While evacuating his family, Khan also alerted other residents in the building to the same.