Life returning to normal for residents of Ajman One towers

After temporarily accommodating residents of Ajman One Towers No. 6 and 8 in various hotels in the emirate, Ajman Civil Defence has started selectively allowing residents of fire-affected buildings to enter their houses and check their documents and other belongings.

A helpdesk at the site has been receiving requests from victims of the fire to visit their houses. They are presenting their ID cards and house keys to Ajman Police and Civil Defence officials who will inspect their respective flats.

Tower No. 6 caught fire after a small fire broke out on the first floor of Tower No. 8, residents said. Monday’s fire gutted two of the 12 towers in the housing complex.

Civil Defence sources said an investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fire.

A Civil Defence official at the site said: “We are taking individual requests from the tenants of flats or their close relatives to inspect their belongings. We are taking their identity cards, and room keys and our people are entering the flats to check whether their documents like passport or other valuables are intact.”

Tower No. 7, which was not affected, was due for inauguration on Tuesday and preparations for its opening were ongoing at the time of the fire.

“Two vehicles in the car park caught fire and falling debris from the fire caused some damage to vehicles parked near the building,” said a resident.

Meanwhile, some residents put up in hotels in Ajman have only the clothes they are wearing.

Amjad Inamdar, a businessman from Pune, India, was waiting to return to his new flat No. 204 in Tower 8, as passports of his wife Sumaiya and children Ahmed and Zaya were kept there.

“I am new to the UAE. We came here only four days ago to set up a new company in Ajman Free Zone. I had Dh17,000 in cash which I kept in a safe in our room. Now I am left with only the clothes I am wearing and my mobile phone. I don’t know whether our passports are burnt or intact,” said Amjad, who has borrowed some money from his friends for daily expenses.

The story is not different for many others who are hanging around, guessing the damage to their houses from a distance. They will be allowed to enter their houses once the Civil Defence investigation is completed.

Many residents were waiting with their baggage to enter their houses. Some have packed their belongings in pick up vans and their own vehicles. Residents of other towers in the complex were allowed to enter earlier.

Meanwhile, debris from the fire, especially burnt aluminum cladding and foil, are being removed by trucks and cleaning is progressing in and around the burnt buildings.

“I live in a flat on the 20th floor with my family. When the fire started, we were the ones to call the police but we did not expect it to be a big fire at that time. The fire started on the first floor of Tower No. 8 and spread to other buildings. I had to close my supermarket and shift some valuables, especially telephone cards, to my vehicle. I don’t know when I can return to our flat,” said Mohammed Damudi, who runs Rupa Supermarket in the adjacent Amburjan Building.

“After hearing about the fire, I rushed here because my relatives were living in one of the towers in the complex. Now I have no contact with them because their mobile phones are switched off and I don’t know where they are accommodated. I will wait for them to call me,” said an Indian looking for his relatives.