Dubai’s Torch Tower engulfed in fire

Torch Tower, located in Dubai and helmed as one of the world’s tallest residential towers, was caught in fire early in the morning on 3rd August 2017, leading to an evacuation of the building’s 676 units and leaving immense damage to the property inside as well as around it. The 79 storey building has been caught in a fire accident for the second time in two years, raising questions about the building bye laws and material safety standards. Thanks to the building’s smoke-free egress paths, all the residents were safely and quickly evacuated leading to no casualties at the accident.

The tower’s construction was completed in 2011 by the architecture firm Khatib & Alami and was the world’s tallest residential tower at that time. Investigations have blamed the building’s flammable aluminum composite facade panels, which instead of blocking the fire, helped to increase it. The same reason affected the Grenfell Tower some time back in London. The authorities have also acknowledged that around 30,000 buildings across the United Arab Emirates were built with siding that had the potential to cause a fire to spread rapidly.