A large fire and thick black smoke engulfed the Ajman market of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday evening. Firefighters were quick to respond in a matter of three minutes only.
Reports entail that a massive fire broke out in the Ajman market, around 6:30 p.m. local time. Videos of the fire were captured and posted online, unveiling parts of the area of the emirate of Ajman was covered in dark black smoke, with cars eaten by the fire.
UAE responders quick on their feet
The area was only 50 km away from Dubai, and official reports show that there are no casualties nor injured residents have been recorded. First responders were able to control the fire roughly three hours later, around 9 p.m. local time.
The official Facebook page of the Ajman Police reports that “civil defense units and 25 police cars and national ambulances achieved record time in the speed of response to [the] arrival in just 3 minutes.”
“Ajman firefighters cordoned off the site and used water and foam in extinguishing the blaze which spread to several shops at the market,” says Khaleej Times‘ sources.
The Civil defense also prevented the spread of the fire to the adjacent building. Necessary actions were speedily enacted, with police teams evacuating store owners and everyone within the area of the fire.
As a precautionary measure, Fox News reports that the nearby hospital, Ajman Speciality Hospital, was subjected to evacuation as well.
A large fire has broken out this evening at a market in the emirate of #Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, according to local media reports.#UAEhttps://t.co/D7qWLu2oTQ pic.twitter.com/yLvRBwADoO
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) August 5, 2020
Sources of Al Arabiya English notes that “four separate teams” joined forces as additional assistance to the emirate’s General Administration Center firefighters. Accordingly, the teams are from the industrial, urban, corniche teams.
Sources also confirmed the possibility of calling in additional firefighters from neighboring emirates in the event that the fire could not be controlled within the initial hours.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ajman Police, Major General Sultan bin Abdullah Al-Naimi, informed that “cooling operations were currently underway,” as part of starting the investigation to the cause of the Ajman market fire.
السيطرة على حريق كبير في سوق شعبي بعجمان دون وقوع أي إصابات أو وفيات بالوصول في 3 دقائقاندلع حريق في السوق الشعبي…
Posted by AjmanPoliceghq on Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Ajman market closed for months
Prior to the massive fire, official statements confer that the Ajman market has been closed down for four months now due to the necessary precautions taken amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With that, Fox News further noted that there were not a lot of people nearby when the fire started.
Reuters reports Sheikh Sultan bin Abdullah al-Nuaimi’s statement that parts of the market “collapsed and were completely burned.”
The amount of damage that the fire has caused is yet to be revealed. The news of the Ajman market fire came less than a day after the Beirut explosion transpired in Lebanon, which took more than a hundred lives and damages amounting to $5 billion, per Times Now News.
Featured image courtesy of Sonder Quest/Unsplash