Dubai property group offers free flats to Torch fire victims
The First Group to provide 20 apartments as temporary accommodation for those left homeless after blaze
A Dubai-based property group has offered free accommodation to the worst-hit residents of The Torch building, which was damaged in a dramatic blaze on February 21.
The First Group has pledged 20 apartments to those left homeless due to the fire that ripped through 30 floors of the 86-storey tower.
“As one of Dubai’s leading property developers, we felt it was our duty to give back to the community and assist these residents by providing them with short-term accommodation so they can go about rebuilding their lives,” said the group’s joint chairman Danny Lubert.
The First Group will provide 20 studio and one-bedroom apartments situated within its Metro Central and First Central blocks, located in Dubai’s TECOM district. The accommodation will be provided free-of-charge for up to two months.
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Dubai Police this week said that the fire started in an apartment on the 51st floor of The Torch. The British national who lived in the apartment, said to be a member of airline cabin crew, was questioned but not detained by police.
Most residents of The Torch have now returned to their homes, but as many as 101 units remained sealed off.
Abu Nasser, head of information at Civil Defence Dubai, said that the fire was extinguished very quickly.
“Our team was able to suppress the fire in two hours only,” he told MEConstructionNews.com. “The Civil Defence team did its job and now the case is handed over to the Dubai Police forensic labs for further investigation.”
