Deira Blaze: No money, no clothes...

Hours after they were safely evacuated out of their homes by the Dubai Civil Defence, several residents of the Al Shamsi building, which was gutted in a massive fire last evening, are anxiously waiting outside their building to get access to their homes and belongings.

The blaze in a residential building near Muraqqabat Police Station was brought “under control” around 10pm last night, but residents haven’t been allowed in yet as an assessment of the structural damage will have to be done prior to that.

“We have nothing on us. No money. No clothes. We want to know if our things are ok,” said Amy Oliveros, a Filipina who lives in the building. “We stayed at our friend's house in Sharjah,” she said.

“We were here till 10pm and watched helplessly. When we started hearing explosions. We went away.

“We are back this morning. We haven’t gone to work. And want to get inside.”

Her apartment is on the back side of the building, which appears to be untouched by the fire.

Apartments on the front, however, appear charred. “I can see my apartment and it looks ok. I just hope nothing is gone,” said Muhammed Farooq, who hails from Bangladesh.

Residents of buildings nearby were seen distributing food packs and water to the waiting residents.

"I have just finished my work here and was packing to go home. All my money is inside my cupboard," said Lingam Kamaray, an Indian national. "I had bought some gifts for my family and it is all in there."

Many said they spent the night with family and friends in the neighbourhood or Sharjah. But some said they weren’t so lucky. "I have been just walking around here. I have not slept. How could I?" Farooq said.

Many are worried about their passports. "The fire alarm went off for 30 minutes and I ran out without taking my passport. I just hope it is undamaged," said Michael, who is from the Philippines.
 

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