AJMAN, United Arab Emirates — A fire that erupted and burned up the side of several towers in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman has been extinguished.
Civil Defense authorities put out the fire Tuesday morning at the Ajman One development in Ajman, a city that's home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai, further to the south.
The towers are still being sprayed with water to cool down any remaining embers.
Two of the towers sustained severe damage in the blaze, while several others appeared to have light damage.
The complex, developed for an estimated $720 million by Aqaar, is home to 12 residential towers.
Local media said that five people were treated on the spot for injuries from the fire which broke out late at night on Monday.
“Civil Defense teams have brought the residential tower fire under control and they are still at the scene conducting cooling off operations,” the Civil Defense said in a message on its Twitter account.
The Civil Defense made no mention of any casualties from the blaze. A video posted online by police showed burning debris falling from the building, as police cordoned off roads leading to the site.
It was at least the fourth major high-rise fire in the UAE in three years. Last New Year’s Eve, a blaze hit a downtown hotel in Dubai; in February last year, fire broke out at a 79-storey hotel in Dubai, and in November 2012, a 34-storey Dubai residential building was partially gutted.
In some of those cases, experts said the speed at which the fires spread may have been due to the use of flammable cladding on the buildings’ exteriors for decoration or insulation.
