Fire rages at downtown Dubai's highrise Address hotel

[Coldpizza]

Fire rages at downtown Dubai's highrise Address hotel
By Jason Hanna, Ashley Fantz and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Thu December 31, 2015

(CNN)Firefighters battled a massive blaze that engulfed a luxury hotel in Dubai Thursday night while a spectacular New Year's fireworks display lit up the night sky nearby.

Video shows orange tentacles of flames engulfing a large section of the the high-end Address hotel for hours after the fire broke out. Witnesses told CNN they heard explosions.

Early reports from Dubai authorities said the fire started on the 20th floor of the 63-floor hotel. Jaqueline Hurtado, a CNN en Español correspondent, said she was at a restaurant in the area when she heard an explosion, "like a loud pop," and thought the fireworks display may have started early.

At least 14 people have sustained minor injuries from the fire, the Dubai government's media office said Thursday night on Twitter.

 

[KaaBoom]

Fire rages at downtown Dubai's highrise Address hotel
By Jason Hanna, Ashley Fantz and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Thu December 31, 2015

(CNN)Firefighters battled a massive blaze that engulfed a luxury hotel in Dubai Thursday night while a spectacular New Year's fireworks display lit up the night sky nearby.

Video shows orange tentacles of flames engulfing a large section of the the high-end Address hotel for hours after the fire broke out. Witnesses told CNN they heard explosions.

Early reports from Dubai authorities said the fire started on the 20th floor of the 63-floor hotel. Jaqueline Hurtado, a CNN en Español correspondent, said she was at a restaurant in the area when she heard an explosion, "like a loud pop," and thought the fireworks display may have started early.

At least 14 people have sustained minor injuries from the fire, the Dubai government's media office said Thursday night on Twitter.

I can’t believe that would have that much flammable material on the outside of a building like that.

 

[Woodland]

It's crazy what is falling from that building KaaBoom - just learned it's aluminum siding that's burning. It has apparently been recommended a number of times not to use this in Dubai - but they still do.

 

[Foxfire]

I retired from Atlanta Fire and was assigned to Squad #5 Haz Mat, High Rise, Heavy Rescue Unit. I can honestly say that when I first saw the breaking news and video of the Dubai high rise, fully occupied, and which appeared to be virtually fully involved with fire. Without info that the fire had originated on one side, and from the exterior of the hotel and had not spread to the inside, I expected the worse case scenario with respect to life loss..
Guess, we have just witnessed the affects of the advancements made in fire protection technology and high rise building codes implemented since 09/11/2001. The desired best case scenario in this incident was the achieved result. Truly amazing.. jmo

 

[LolaMoon08]

I retired from Atlanta Fire and was assigned to Squad #5 Haz Mat, High Rise, Heavy Rescue Unit. I can honestly say that when I first saw the breaking news and video of the Dubai high rise, fully occupied, and which appeared to be virtually fully involved with fire. Without info that the fire had originated on one side, and from the exterior of the hotel and had not spread to the inside, I expected the worse case scenario with respect to life loss..
Guess, we have just witnessed the affects of the advancements made in fire protection technology and high rise building codes implemented since 09/11/2001. The desired best case scenario in this incident was the achieved result. Truly amazing.. jmo

Wow! Thanks for this great update. What a fantastic outcome.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

'People were shoving each other down the stairs and climbing over each other': Panic in Dubai as inferno rips though 63-storey hotel... but fails to halt New Year firework celebrations just 500 yards away

The Address Downtown is currently on fire in the Middle Eastern city, with the flames running up at least 40 stories

Hotel just across a lake from the Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building, which hosted a fireworks display at midnight

People inside the hotel have described the 'pandemonium' as people tried to escape the burning building

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hold-New-Year-celebrations.html#ixzz3vzP9qitM

 

[CARIIS]

[video=youtube;tx7sXzI3Xak]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx7sXzI3Xak[/video]

Sure looks like an "explosion " to me...................... I just dont see grandma falling asleep with a cig hanging out her mouth .. A transformer?

 

[bluesneakers]

[video=youtube;tx7sXzI3Xak]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx7sXzI3Xak[/video]

Sure looks like an "explosion " to me...................... I just dont see grandma falling asleep with a cig hanging out her mouth .. A transformer?

I hadn't seen video until now. It looks like it could be an explosion.

The fireworks gave the whole thing a creepy feel.

 

[Donjeta]

That explosion video seems to have been taken several hours after the fire started raging so it does not depict the firestarter, rather the after effects.

Daily mail has a photo of where the fire seems to have started and they note:

Explosions coming from inside the building were heard just minutes before the spectacular fireworks were set off

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-hundreds-feet-air-rope.html#ixzz3w0W9oXxj

That would have been about midnight and the fire started at 9.30pm.
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Explosion on CNN live:
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world...cnn/video/playlists/dubai-address-hotel-fire/

 

[KaaBoom]

I hadn't seen video until now. It looks like it could be an explosion.

The fireworks gave the whole thing a creepy feel.

Nothing like watching fireworks through the smoke of a burning skyscraper.

 

[CARIIS]

It gets worse......

[h=1]Couple takes smiling selfie in front of burning hotel in Dubai[/h]
worlds gone coo coo

http://nypost.com/2016/01/01/couple-takes-smiling-selfie-in-front-of-burning-hotel-in-dubai/

 

[CARIIS]

The fire is reviving now after 22h since the first blast despite massive amount of fire brigades deployed #Dubaifire

pic here

[video=twitter;682949935914811392]https://twitter.com/carolinecng/status/682949935914811392[/video]

 

[CARIIS]

They ought to be able to determine origin ---can you imagine if it was your room and you left something on an d burned out a skyscrapers on NY eve....lordy

But i do have some thoughts --that video I posted earlier, it looks like an explosiion, on the other side of the building , at the ground level. How do we get from boom at ground level, to the 22 nd floor, with the floors between the two not burned heat rises?

perceptiions?

I thought maybe a propane kitchen , but how would that get it 22 floor- it also likes the post a few back was on around floor 13-14, which in some ways would make sense (ie orgin 22 floor, floors ablaze falling down - and fighters focusing more on several floors above -- but then water goes downward?

Its just bizaire stuff from what we now know...

 

[CARIIS]

Happy New Year O/T a bit

Munich terror evacuation\

Tel Aviv terrorist (the video is unreal) I would think fingerprints on the bag...I know off topic but this just came out :
[h=2]Tel Aviv gunman is mentally unstable, not a radical militant, family attorney says on Israeli TV; suspect was previously jailed for stealing IDF soldier's gun - @Jerusalem_Post[/h]The machete guy last night that was foiled,,

Levis are breaking in the flood areaa

Natalie Cole passed

Suicide bomber last night in a club - forgot where

Several firework shows cancelled due to terror

It Jan 1 geezzzzzzzzzz

 

[Tulessa]

I have no clue what started it, but when I was watching coverage on CNN, they did mention that they thought a curtain had caught fire.

 

[Tulessa]

So candle maybe?

 

[bluesneakers]

Cigarette? Christmas tree?

 

[Woodland]

Shisha?

 

[Foxfire]

Originally quoted by bluesneakers
Cigarette? Christmas tree?

Interesting that it is taking this much time for fire investigators to determine the cause or ignition source of the blaze. Initial reports mentioned/speculated that exterior radiant heaters were placed in the terrace area, too close to vegetation; 'combustibles too close to an ignition source'.
Bluesneakers, my guess would be palm trees.. but it seems that there would be security video footage readily available to show this. jmo

<BBM for focus>
Dubai investigates a massive fire that swept through the luxury Address Downtown Hotel .

The authorities in Dubai are trying to find out what caused a spectacular fire to engulf a 63-storey luxury hotel in the city centre on New Year's Eve.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35209029

After battling for more than 20 hours, firefighters appear to have extinguished most of the blaze at the Address Downtown Hotel.
An eyewitness has told the BBC only a couple of small isolated fires are still burning.
The tower was evacuated and 16 people were hurt.
A fireworks show went ahead at the Burj Khalifa tower nearby, the world's tallest building and an iconic symbol of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Video and pictures taken by resident Malcolm Carter and sent to the BBC showed the fire that burned on the terrace area earlier on Friday morning had been put out and significantly less smoke was coming from the building.

The pictures show the facade facing the Burj Khalifa had been severely damaged by fire and smoke, and that all floors from the lower area of the building to the upper levels were affected.

The cause of the blaze, which is said to have started on the 20th floor, is still not known.

<snipped - read more>

 

[CARIIS]

It was not cold last night i believe - who would turn on a heater?? exterior radiant heaters were placed in the terrace area,

just interesting in your thoughts "fire" did'nt the intial bang look to be lower floors ??

also fire--doesnt the smoke still emerging so many hours later, when it was my understadning, that basically it mostly the exterior that went up seems like a long time no?

Interesting that it is taking this much time for fire investigators to determine the cause or ignition source of the blaze. Initial reports mentioned/speculated that exterior radiant heaters were placed in the terrace area, too close to vegetation; 'combustibles too close to an ignition source'.
Bluesneakers, my guess would be palm trees.. but it seems that there would be security video footage readily available to show this. jmo

<BBM for focus>
Dubai investigates a massive fire that swept through the luxury Address Downtown Hotel .

The authorities in Dubai are trying to find out what caused a spectacular fire to engulf a 63-storey luxury hotel in the city centre on New Year's Eve.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35209029

After battling for more than 20 hours, firefighters appear to have extinguished most of the blaze at the Address Downtown Hotel.
An eyewitness has told the BBC only a couple of small isolated fires are still burning.
The tower was evacuated and 16 people were hurt.
A fireworks show went ahead at the Burj Khalifa tower nearby, the world's tallest building and an iconic symbol of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Video and pictures taken by resident Malcolm Carter and sent to the BBC showed the fire that burned on the terrace area earlier on Friday morning had been put out and significantly less smoke was coming from the building.

The pictures show the facade facing the Burj Khalifa had been severely damaged by fire and smoke, and that all floors from the lower area of the building to the upper levels were affected.

The cause of the blaze, which is said to have started on the 20th floor, is still not known.

<snipped - read more>