# Tamweel Tower JLT



## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

I hope none of you fellow EF'ers have been effected by last nights fire which appears to have gutted the top half of the tower. 
I heard the sirens last night around 2am but didn't even look out the window as I just assumed it would be some teenager who'd smashed up his Ferrari. 
Looks as though the fire service had serious problems dealing with it which is a bit of a concern in a City full of Towers!!


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Felixtoo2 said:


> Looks as though the fire service had serious problems dealing with it which is a bit of a concern in a City full of Towers!!


Yep, you're more or less accepting that if there is a fire in your building, it's up to you to get yourself to safety. Luckily it started near the top of the building.

Although to be fair to the firemen, it seems that falling, flaming debris was landing on balconies further down which was spreading the fire. Not sure how you'd easily deal with that.

Major fire at 1am guts JLT's Tamweel tower; Residents huddled on streets in despair - Emirates 24/7


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm hearing that this could have been nipped in the bud very quickly had they sent a couple of helicopters with water dumpers. Sadly they build these towers with substandard materials, virtually no safety measures and all of that cladding on the outside of the building is flammable. 
Absolutely horrific, it's a wonder no one was hurt.

I could never do high rise living.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Started at 2am, by 630 it was extinguished. 

Seriously hope no one was hurt. Whole side of the tower looks gutted, a lot of debris fell on cars below damaging them. 

It appeared from my side that they were spraying from the tower adjacent to it from 2 spots.

But when you have a fire travelling vertically in a tower of 35 floors, it may be difficult to handle it.


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## MElady (May 5, 2012)

I hope everyone is ok!!


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

I saw the smoke this morning on my way to work at 7:30am. We saw another fire in the afternoon yesterday but seemed far away, closer to Sports City, etc.

Too many fires recently.....think the authorities need to start doing some random safety checks.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

pamela0810 said:


> Too many fires recently.....think the authorities need to start doing some random safety checks.


Yeah, and that too close to home for me. There was a serious fire in TECOM as well recently.


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

We have been having some fire taking place recently. Not a long ago we had one in Bur Dubai close to my work.

Unfortunately when people move they do not care much about the likelihood of having a fire in their buildings or what the safety procedures are. Honestly, do you know what you are supposed to do other than get out as soon as possible when such situation arises ? 

I am not sure but has anyone heard of drills ? I think the firefighters could start targeting some buildings (there is plenty!) to run some exercises and check whether the buildings are complying with fire safety.


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2012)

So scary ..makes me question living in a tower building


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

One of the biggest things that concern me is the lack of home insurance. I'm sure the landlords have this so if there is a fire, the landlords will get paid. What about the tenants? We will lose all our personal valuables for sure but would we get reimbursed in any way for the loss of furniture, etc?

My aunt's apartment in Bur Dubai caught fire a few months ago due to faulty wiring. Luckily, they were able to put it out but it left a huge gaping hole in the ceiling.

Then at our work place, we have regular fire drills (about every 3 months or so). Last month, there was a huge fire in the basement and the fire alarm didn't go off! We only managed to get out because we looked out the window and saw everyone rushing out.


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Good point and I honestly have not inquired any banks about that product that can be easily found in Canada for tenants. Well I dont have anything of value there so the whole place can burn down to the ashes as far as I am concerned...oh I am sooo bad and selfish 

Usually such tenant policies cover belongings to a certain limit. Actually you set the limit, it also covers for temporary lodging in case of fire or a dire situation like flooding and etc. So Pamela you might take advantage of this and offer a new product and rip millions of fils....

|We have drills too but these guys they dont leave their own seats man such lazbu bums. They just wait for the alarm to go off. And if it does not go off...(kindah makes you wonder that something is really wrong) they just call the guy saying "listen the alarm is not going off can you fix it?" " is there fire there? " ; " IDK" Go figure.


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

On a positive note - it started in the middle of the night yet everyone was evacuated and no one was hurt.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Canuck_Sens said:


> Good point and I honestly have not inquired any banks about that product that can be easily found in Canada for tenants. Well I dont have anything of value there so the whole place can burn down to the ashes as far as I am concerned...oh I am sooo bad and selfish
> 
> Usually such tenant policies cover belongings to a certain limit. Actually you set the limit, it also covers for temporary lodging in case of fire or a dire situation like flooding and etc. So Pamela you might take advantage of this and offer a new product and rip millions of fils....
> 
> |We have drills too but these guys they dont leave their own seats man such lazbu bums. They just wait for the alarm to go off. And if it does not go off...(kindah makes you wonder that something is really wrong) they just call the guy saying "listen the alarm is not going off can you fix it?" " is there fire there? " ; " IDK" Go figure.



contents insurance is readily available here, was just finallising mine this week (probably go up now!)


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

blazeaway said:


> contents insurance is readily available here, was just finallising mine this week (probably go up now!)


And where were you when they needed you?


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

It appears the fire started at the top of the tower. The flammable cladding then caught light and the fire spread down the outside of the building which is what looked so dramatic. If the cladding had not have been flammable the flames would have just gone upwards like they are supposed to do. The debris and the damage to the cars has been caused by the burnt cladding. Hopefully the majority of the damage is to the outside. Incredible no one was hurt by falling debris.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Gavtek said:


> And where were you when they needed you?


Just answering a query about whether home contents insurance was available!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

My friend lives in Al Seef 3, which is opposite. He said the fire brigade didn't really start getting water to the fire for at least two hours after they were evacuated from their building. There is a tenants' meeting tonight for the other two buildings. It's an absolute miracle that everyone got out. They even evacuated other nearby buildings after a couple of 'fire balls' nearly hit them.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Meeting is over. The biggest problem last night was water pressure, or lack of it, which is a concern for other buildings in JLT. A lot of the alarms didn't go off throughout the three towers and, quite obviously, there was a problem with the sprinklers in Tamweel. The property management company for the Al Seef buildings is going to be carrying out various tests on equipment, etc and the tenants have asked for power points to be checked. Gas cylinders may also be banned. Incidentally, the insurance cover from the building covers accommodation for the tenants, the cost of fire fighting and clean-up. My friend says that many people have 'moved out' of his building as it has been a horribly scary time. He says he is staying because there are still many fire trucks and ambulances on site monitoring the situation. As we were speaking this evening a lot of the debris was pushed to one side to clear a path for what looked like visiting 'dignitaries'. Apparently, a full report will be issued sooner rather than later.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

BedouGirl said:



> Meeting is over. The biggest problem last night was water pressure, or lack of it, which is a concern for other buildings in JLT. A lot of the alarms didn't go off throughout the three towers and, quite obviously, there was a problem with the sprinklers in Tamweel. The property management company for the Al Seef buildings is going to be carrying out various tests on equipment, etc and the tenants have asked for power points to be checked. Gas cylinders may also be banned. Incidentally, the insurance cover from the building covers accommodation for the tenants, the cost of fire fighting and clean-up. My friend says that many people have 'moved out' of his building as it has been a horribly scary time. He says he is staying because there are still many fire trucks and ambulances on site monitoring the situation. As we were speaking this evening a lot of the debris was pushed to one side to clear a path for what looked like visiting 'dignitaries'. Apparently, a full report will be issued sooner rather than later.


Are tenants provided accommodation whilst repairs etc completed?


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

blazeaway said:


> Are tenants provided accommodation whilst repairs etc completed?


I believe so, which is what I said - Tamweel's insurance covers it along with the cost of the fire fighting and cleanup.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

blazeaway said:


> Just answering a query about whether home contents insurance was available!


I was making a joke about your username...


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## Hikkos (Nov 18, 2012)

I live in Mag 218 in the Marina and I actually found this website searching for stories about the fire. I had a front row seat as the Tameel building is right across from my building across from Sheik Zayed. To say it was one of the craziest fires I've personally seen, was an understatement. All of the burning debris falling and then catching fire on the ground was just crazy. I'm glad to read here that no one was hurt as I was praying for those who were in the tower. 

I also think its very weird that there isn't any kind of home owners insurance. There have been many fires here in Dubai within the past few years, so I would think that would be somewhat of a standard. Maybe we should start a revolution! Vive La Revolution!!!


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

You can readily get contents insurance although so many people don't have it. I know it's a bit morbid, but things like this are also a timely reminder for people to make sure they have a Will.


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Hikkos said:


> I also think its very weird that there isn't any kind of home owners insurance. There have been many fires here in Dubai within the past few years, so I would think that would be somewhat of a standard. Maybe we should start a revolution! Vive La Revolution!!!


 There is, but the question is more likely about coverage. And whether or not your building has a policy in case of a fire. After all owners pay maintenance fees and I would imagine that there is budget for insurance (it has to have and if it does not OMFG) and whether they include tenants or just owners.

Is it something that you can negotiate in the lease ?

I guess nobody thinks about it like honestly it never crosses our mind that hey that could ve been my building.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Well in regards to the insurance, for the home owners/landlords the insurance would cover their loss towards the property, (their) contents etc.. but if you are a tenant I am not so sure that the landlord's policy would cover your personal items (electronics, furniture etc..) in any case. I would imagine one would need to get their own policy for that, (as we all know insurance companies are experts at reading the fine print when it comes to honoring the policies lol)... Getting the landlord to take out a policy to cover your items while you rent would be a stretch I would imagine... Hope everyone comes out OK, unfortunate situation...


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

Although most of the damage appears to be superficial it's still fairly substantial. Is it likely that the Tower will have to come down or will it have maitained it's structural integrity? 
It seems that whatever glue/bonding they've used on the aluminium was flammable although I'm sure this detail may be brushed over in the official report.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

ALL these towers are covered in flammable cladding! Why? Because it's cheaper than using fire resistant cladding and other materials. It's about time, the use of such things was banned and proper inspections and building codes were implemented.


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

DMCC have announced they will be paying for temporary accommodation for residents affected.


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## Hikkos (Nov 18, 2012)

wandabug said:


> DMCC have announced they will be paying for temporary accommodation for residents affected.


good to hear. best of luck to those who have friends who live in the tower.

I will be definitely looking into renters insurance here but i'm sure they'll charge some ridiculous price that'll offset the benefits, but either way i'll look into it...


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## Guest (Nov 19, 2012)

These blocks have all the necessary fire precautions to handle such an incident.

In this case the sprinkler system and the hose reels had been isloated and were not working.

You can put all the life safety systems you want into a building, but unless they are maintained and clear permit to work systems operated when they are swithed off for any reason, then I'm afraid expect to see more of the same.

It has been a wake up call in my Industry and there are a lot of worried CEO's as ulitmately someone will go to jail for this and they always go for the top man first.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

If anyone would like to assist, here is a FB page giving details of how people can help those affected by the fire:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/386329451443028


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## dxb_loon (Oct 18, 2012)

I also had a close view of this shocking event across in the Oaks Liwa Hotel. The speed the exterior cladding perished was incredibly fast. It was a miracle everyone got out safely.

My sympathies to all the residents - its certainly good to hear support has been offered to all those affected. 

Makes you ask yourself some questions about living in a high-floor of a tower block. It was enough to persuade me to move-out of the high-rise Hotel and am now taken a 1st-floor apt!


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## Hikkos (Nov 18, 2012)

dxb_loon said:


> I also had a close view of this shocking event across in the Oaks Liwa Hotel. The speed the exterior cladding perished was incredibly fast. It was a miracle everyone got out safely.
> 
> My sympathies to all the residents - its certainly good to hear support has been offered to all those affected.
> 
> Makes you ask yourself some questions about living in a high-floor of a tower block. It was enough to persuade me to move-out of the high-rise Hotel and am now taken a 1st-floor apt!


lol, i'm thinking the same thing! i've had fire alarms go off in my building, and i just stay in the house. i am not walking down 55 flights of stairs! i've actually taken the lift several times when the alarms have gone off even though you aren't suppose to. lets hope to nothing bad happening and i will not be staying in a high floor ever again as I got spoiled in Chicago.


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

mark1969 said:


> You can put all the life safety systems you want into a building, but unless they are maintained and clear permit to work systems operated when they are swithed off for any reason, then I'm afraid expect to see more of the same.
> 
> It has been a wake up call in my Industry and there are a lot of worried CEO's as ulitmately someone will go to jail for this and they always go for the top man first.



Well - the responsibility for maintenance and the work systems lies in the hands of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association - NOT with Tamweel itself. This is the double-edged sword of an owners' association. Similar to the fact that Tamweel has no responsibility for finding (and paying for) alternative housing for the put-out residents. The Owners' Association is responsible for managing this.

Now - I see in the coming months - a complicated scenario where the board members of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association potentially being made personally liable for the decisions they made regarding the building's maintenance and planning.

Wouldn't that put a wrench in the whole thing?

-md000/Mike


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Hikkos said:


> lol, i'm thinking the same thing! i've had fire alarms go off in my building, and i just stay in the house. i am not walking down 55 flights of stairs! i've actually taken the lift several times when the alarms have gone off even though you aren't suppose to. lets hope to nothing bad happening and i will not be staying in a high floor ever again as I got spoiled in Chicago.


Great attitude! God Forbid, if there is a real fire in your building in the middle of the night, you're going to be the naked guy standing in the balcony waving out to be rescued! I'd rather walk down 55 flights of stairs than take that chance!


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

md000 said:


> Well - the responsibility for maintenance and the work systems lies in the hands of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association - NOT with Tamweel itself. This is the double-edged sword of an owners' association. Similar to the fact that Tamweel has no responsibility for finding (and paying for) alternative housing for the put-out residents. The Owners' Association is responsible for managing this.
> 
> Now - I see in the coming months - a complicated scenario where the board members of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association potentially being made personally liable for the decisions they made regarding the building's maintenance and planning.
> 
> ...


This is an extremely intriguing point you have raised, didn't really occur to me until I read your post, if there were criminal proceedings, 'put a wrench in the whole thing' would be an understatement....


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

md000 said:


> Well - the responsibility for maintenance and the work systems lies in the hands of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association - NOT with Tamweel itself. This is the double-edged sword of an owners' association. Similar to the fact that Tamweel has no responsibility for finding (and paying for) alternative housing for the put-out residents. The Owners' Association is responsible for managing this.
> 
> Now - I see in the coming months - a complicated scenario where the board members of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association potentially being made personally liable for the decisions they made regarding the building's maintenance and planning.
> 
> ...


Surely a big portion of the blame lies with the Architect and Contractor in that the materials and evident lack of compartmentilisation is what allowed the fire to spread?


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

blazeaway said:


> Surely a big portion of the blame lies with the Architect and Contractor in that the materials and evident lack of compartmentilisation is what allowed the fire to spread?


Blame, yes - but legal liability - probably not.

-md000/Mike


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## TeamUSA61 (May 29, 2012)

Just read in the National that the building Developer has agreed to pay only for the first two (2) nights hotel accommodation that the residents will have to pay and wait for a "partial" reimbursment. Well here we go with the blame game and pushing responsibility to someone else.... In the end it is the families that will bear the brunt of the burden of this tragedy. Although thankfully no one was killed and all material things are replaceable.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

TeamUSA61 said:


> Just read in the National that the building Developer has agreed to pay only for the first two (2) nights hotel accommodation that the residents will have to pay and wait for a "partial" reimbursment.


A FOF is directly affected, they got one night in the Bonnington. Also their own insurance company won't speak to them as they don't have their insurance policy documents or policy number - it burnt in the fire.


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## Guest (Nov 21, 2012)

blazeaway said:


> Surely a big portion of the blame lies with the Architect and Contractor in that the materials and evident lack of compartmentilisation is what allowed the fire to spread?


The fire pump for the building was not operational, this is a critical life safety component of any high rise building as its needed to lift water high enough.

These should be tested weekly.

The sprinkler system and hose reels would have contained the fire within the building.

People have already been arrested.


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

Maybe I'm missing something but it appears that the buildings insurance that was arranged for this Tower has a maximum payout of 1,485,000 dhs for the whole building? I've a house in Ireland that's insured for more than that!


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

Felixtoo2 said:


> Maybe I'm missing something but it appears that the buildings insurance that was arranged for this Tower has a maximum payout of 1,485,000 dhs for the whole building? I've a house in Ireland that's insured for more than that!


The 1.48m AED is for alternative accommodation to be paid to the owners of the units in the building that need it. This may/may not apply to the tenants.

-md000/Mike


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## TeamUSA61 (May 29, 2012)

:smash:


Mr Rossi said:


> A FOF is directly affected, they got one night in the Bonnington. Also their own insurance company won't speak to them as they don't have their insurance policy documents or policy number - it burnt in the fire.


Well that is typical isn't it! HELLO McFly is anybody Home??????


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

md000 said:


> The 1.48m AED is for alternative accommodation to be paid to the owners of the units in the building that need it. This may/may not apply to the tenants.
> 
> -md000/Mike


This was exactly my question at the very beginning. Even if the building was covered by insurance, the money will go to the owners and not to the tenants. 

I have now started receiving emails from people trying to sell me fire protection insurance.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

mark1969 said:


> The fire pump for the building was not operational, this is a critical life safety component of any high rise building as its needed to lift water high enough.
> 
> These should be tested weekly.
> 
> ...


Shocking!


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## Farah2612 (Nov 22, 2012)

md000 said:


> Well - the responsibility for maintenance and the work systems lies in the hands of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association - NOT with Tamweel itself. This is the double-edged sword of an owners' association. Similar to the fact that Tamweel has no responsibility for finding (and paying for) alternative housing for the put-out residents. The Owners' Association is responsible for managing this.
> 
> Now - I see in the coming months - a complicated scenario where the board members of the Tamweel Building Owners' Association potentially being made personally liable for the decisions they made regarding the building's maintenance and planning.
> 
> ...


I REALLY want to sue someone over this but not quite sure who! It's exactly the point you mentioned above of the complicated scenario whereby affected residents who are seething and fuming like myself will just want to go after anyone and the obvious choice is the Owner's Association. 

I've spoken to Taweel and to people from the Association and all I can say is that I've not heard as much nonsense in my life from both!!! They all want to help of course but consistently passing the buck!!


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## Farah2612 (Nov 22, 2012)

If anyone knows whose responsible for testing the pumps or getting the pumps tested, can they please share this!!


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## Farah2612 (Nov 22, 2012)

I actually asked Tamweel whether it was them that took out the insurance and they said no; I asked the Owner's Association the same question and they said that Tamweel chose the insurers! 
When I told Tamweel that if they'd agreed to the policy then they must subsidise the insurance payout in order to provide like for like, I was told to speak to Arab Orient Insurance!!! Would anyone believe that??? In what capacity??? I've heard unbelievably absurd suggestions but of course these were coming from nonentities so to speak! No one higher up would speak to me!!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Tamweel Tower tenants stripped off alternative accommodation - Emirates 24/7


Tenants of Tamweel Tower will not be reimbursed the Dh10,000 they were required to pay in advance for the alternative accommodation.

*Tenants who lived in Tamweel Tower, the 34-floor residential building in Jumeirah Lakes Towers that partly went up in flames on November 18 this year, have been informed that the one month of accommodation that was provided to them will not be reimbursed.*

"The temporary accommodation of 30 days as per the insurance policy is for owners staying in the apartment. Tamweel is fighting on our behalf to include the tenants as well. Owners who are releasing the tenants based on this 30 days accommodation period are requested to take the above into consideration," was informed in an email from Tamweel Owners Association to the residents of Tamweel Tower today.

On Monday November 19 all residents of Tamweel Tower received an email from Tamweel, stating: "As you are aware, the Owners' Association has obtained Property All Risks cover from Arab Orient Insurance Co. This cover includes reimbursement for cost of alternative accommodation, subject to a maximum of AED 1,485,520 for all residents together.

As hundreds of owners and landlords were left homeless after the fire they flocked into the hotel apartments provided to them. To their surprise an initial payment for the accommodation -Dh10,000- had to come from their pockets, which meant a heavy financial burden for some.

*However, as an urgent process of reimbursement was promised residents felt comfortable reaching out to their last resources, using credit card, loan or money put aside for other purposes.*

"We have not received that money until today," says a furious tenant. "And now we heard that we will not be reimbursed at all. We are on our own as tenants."


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Apparently there was a fire in the garbage room at one of the Armada towers the other day caused by someone disposing of their shisha charcoal down the garbage chute. Fortunately, it was put out quickly by the fire service.


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## wazza2222 (Sep 7, 2011)

pamela0810 said:


> Great attitude! God Forbid, if there is a real fire in your building in the middle of the night, you're going to be the naked guy standing in the balcony waving out to be rescued! I'd rather walk down 55 flights of stairs than take that chance!


I need to walk *UP* 55 flights of stairs to start getting rid of my Dubai Stone (which is frankly starting to look like TWO now)

But you are dead right, after 25 years of firefighting I can tell you, firefighters hate finding people still in their rooms when the alarms have been going for enough time for us to respond to the building and then yomp our gear up all those stairs. I refer to it as a sort of Darwinian response situation i.e. "you are too dumb to pass your genes on so you will perish in this fire"


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## wazza2222 (Sep 7, 2011)

blazeaway said:


> Surely a big portion of the blame lies with the Architect and Contractor in that the materials and evident lack of compartmentilisation is what allowed the fire to spread?


Unfortunately, the flammable cladding is perfectly legal in the UAE at this time and the fire was able to spread through vertical exterior avenues. Compartmentalisation will no doubt have saved a lot of lives in this instance, the lack of a functional sprinkler system is the single biggest concern (after the cladding of course)


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

The forensic experts have determined that the fire on the roof of this building was caused by a discarded cigarette on the ground floor.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Gavtek said:


> The forensic experts have determined that the fire on the roof of this building was caused by a discarded cigarette on the ground floor.


some experts!


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

The worst part of the article:
Tamweel Tower fire started by cigarette butt, say Dubai Police - The National

* Tenants are at fault for the massive fire - "“Surely, someone must have just thrown a cigarette butt,” he said. “There are many people who are negligent. They are just not aware of the repercussions.”
* Contractors are at fault for leaving trash on the ground 

There was one statement about the highly flammable cladding, but the report refused to place blame on this.

yep. 

-md000/Mike


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## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

Yep....and the ball drops:

Tamweel blaze cause could leave residents without compensation - The National

The building owner (i.e. the owners' association) or building developer probably won't be at fault because a cigarette caused it. Therefore - no one gets their insurance coverage.

-md000/Mike


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I thought you might be interested to read this. It's part of an email written by my friend who lives in Al Seef 3, the tower opposite, about the night of the fire:

It was all so surreal. Only in the cold light of day do you start to comprehend what actually happened. It was like slow motion, being woken from a deep sleep and knowing you had to get out with the alarms screaming in and out of the apartment, I was quite disorientated. Your mind tries to work out priorities, like find your passport, wallet, keys and phone and then you realise that actually, you have no idea where the fire is?

I went to the balcony to try and find out and only then did I see the scale of what was happening. I immediately felt the heat of the fire, burning debris was raining down and being blown everywhere by the wind vortex between the towers, the noise was incredible, like a tube train rumbling towards you through a tunnel. I grabbed my things and went down the fire escape with a family (parents, young children and very elderly grand parents). I held back with the grandfather whilst the parents went ahead with the children and the grandmother, unfortunately, the emergency lighting failed several times which made progress even slower.

Once outside, I can only liken it to a scene from Towering Inferno. The burning debris I saw showering down when on the balcony, had become the size of small cars at ground level, we all had to run the gauntlet of this falling debris because the fire escape opened out onto it and not one floor further down into the covered basement (a option for may be for some designers and developers to bear in mind)? 

You could hear screaming, shouting, sirens blaring and people not knowing which way to run. I cannot imagine how terrifying it must have been for those desperate people trying to escape from inside the burning tower, in what must have been a hellish inferno? I am just amazed, actually I am truly astounded that up to 600 people got out of that tower uninjured, it really was a small miracle.

A lot of questions are now being asked as to the fabric and protection of the buildings, why some sprinklers worked and others didn't? Why it took twenty minutes to sound the fire alarms and again. why some didn't work? Why there was a lack of water pressure for the fire hoses at the upper levels? Why there was no water in the fixed hose reels on each floor in the building? Why it took three hours from when the fire crews arrived, to start using the hoses from the adjacent tower, in an effort to try and stop the fire spreading down the outside of the building?

As with a lot of things in Dubai, perhaps we will never find out what really happened with fighting the fire, how it started, why non flame resistant materials were used for the cladding and what lessons can be learned?

Unquote

I know it's almost all in the dim and distant past now, but I only read this the other day and it really made quite an impression on me.


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## Garbuttj (Feb 2, 2013)

We inspect buildings being handed over to Owner Associations on a daily basis in Dubai. The inspections are as per the directive of RERA and so far most buildings fail due to poor fire protection and alarm installation. Responsibility needs to be put on the developers, consultants and contractors who complete and certify the work is complete when it clearly is not. Civil Defence rely on these certificates and are being misled.

The Tamweel tower had not been RERA inspected before hand over and I doubt very much if it would have passed. If the developer had carried out such a building completion audit this disaster could probably have been avoided.


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

Garbuttj said:


> We inspect buildings being handed over to Owner Associations on a daily basis in Dubai. The inspections are as per the directive of RERA and so far most buildings fail due to poor fire protection and alarm installation. Responsibility needs to be put on the developers, consultants and contractors who complete and certify the work is complete when it clearly is not. Civil Defence rely on these certificates and are being misled.
> 
> The Tamweel tower had not been RERA inspected before hand over and I doubt very much if it would have passed. If the developer had carried out such a building completion audit this disaster could probably have been avoided.


I often wonder what good are strict guidelines if they are selectively enforced? Unfortunately it appears no one but the victims will be punished. I spent some time the other day on the Skyscraper City forum and it is amazing what was planned in 2004 and how some of the places actually look today (that is, if they have been finished). Emaar seems to be the only one that even tries to deliver what they promised. I just think these developers was in such a rush to please the powers that be that they threw some of these towers up willy-nilly and didn't pay attention to things like, fit, finish, quality and safety, all for being able to sell / rent units at inflated values while things were good. Seeing some of the legal actions happening today against Trident and some of these 3rd and 4th tier developments leads you to believe some of the buildings are as flimsy as the paper in the original advertisements.

I fear for anything that might happen somewhere like JBR which is so dense and interconnected, and when you walk around there, the place looks about 20 years older than it really is.


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