Investigation into Dubai hotel fire begins

The fire struck the Address in downtown Dubai on New Year’s Eve in one of the world’s glittering cities.

“No one was sure how much the fire would spread”, said Janice Bernard, who lives in an apartment in the Zafraan quarter opposite the hotel.

The cause is being investigated, but early reports have said the blaze began when some room curtains on the 20th floor caught fire.

“Sometimes it makes me feel unsafe”, she said.

The hotel said it had set up a hotline for guests affected by the fire and was working to provide them alternative accommodation across the city.

Angus Villar was on the 15th floor of the building pouring champagne as he and his family prepared to celebrate the New Year. The aluminum material includes a plastic component, he said.

Television pictures showed pieces of blazing debris raining down from The Address as evacuated occupants hurried away from the building, some running.

At least 14 people were slightly injured, and one person suffered a heart attack from the smoke and over-crowding during an evacuation late Thursday, according to the Dubai Media Office.

Jaqueline Hurtado, a CNN en Español correspondent, was at a restaurant in the area when she heard an explosion, “like a loud pop”.

As we reported yesterday, Dubai’s fireworks display continued as planned, even as the blaze raged a short distance away.

“You feel sad for the people inside….”

“It’s pretty scary stuff”, she said. “It just started burning real quick”.

The New Year’s fireworks display at the nearby Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is one of Dubai’s most celebrated annual rites and attracted thousands of spectators – most of whom were evacuated before the spectacle went on as scheduled.

It published several videos on its Twitter feed of fireworks erupting around the iconic Burj Khalifa and said the New Year’s celebration was a testimony to Dubai’s “steadfast commitment to its major projects and initiatives”.

Dubai’s Media Office tweeted several photos of the damage to the interior and exterior portions of the building.

“When we walked out, the whole building was just ablaze”.

The 63-storey luxury hotel and residential complex has been completely evacuated. “They got us out calmly … quickly”. “The rising smoke is part of this process”, the Dubai government said, presumably before coughing violently and heading to a different megahotel.