The emergency sprinkler systems at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel ran out of water 15 minutes after the fire broke out on New Year’s Eve, it has been claimed.
An official from Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) has revealed the huge fire put undue pressure on the fire safety systems and meant the water supply ran out within 15 minutes, according to arabianbusiness.
There was also no water for the firemen’s hoses, it was said.
Matt Bright, a risk analyst at the DCD’s operations and fire investigation team, was quoted as saying: “The sprinkler systems worked as they were designed to do but this was an extraordinary fire.
“The water in the system drained quite quickly because of how many sprinklers were operating.”
The National also reported this month that tests on the exterior wall panels used on The Address, conducted at a research institute in Texas in 2007, were worthless because they tested fire “containment” not “flammability”.
Fifteen people sustained minor injuries in the fire, while a firefighter suffered a heart attack.
Dubai authorities are working to address gaps in fire safety regulations by updating the 2012 fire safety code and conducting a review of all buildings in the emirate to ascertain what fire safety risk each poses.