Dubai: A young tenant has recalled a “horrifying” fire at home, describing how he fought the flames and evacuated fellow tenants even as his father suffered burns.
The Pakistani expat used an extinguisher, which was in the corridor of his floor, to put out a kitchen fire caused by a cooking gas cylinder leak at his Deira flat last month.
“The fire extinguisher saved my life and 36 other people in the building. It could have been a lot worse had I not put the fire out quickly. There could have been an explosion,” Hussain said.
He added that his father is recovering from second-degree burns sustained in the blaze that tore through the kitchen close to midnight on January 17.
“My father wanted to cook but as soon as my father turned on the gas stove, the gas pipe detached and the stove caught fire. I ran in and saw him trying to put out the flames with a cloth. His face was reddish and his hair and beard had burnt. I rushed to the fire extinguisher after telling my father to leave the flat with my family — my mother, two sisters and a brother,” Hussain said.
“My father crawled out of the kitchen and still wanted to help me. It was very emotional and horrifying. I took a deep breath and went inside to put out the blaze. I nearly blacked out. Then I ran out, shouting to tenants — many of whom were sleeping — to leave the building. I called the emergency services and they arrived within minutes.”
Hussain said firefighters rushed in and placed the leaking cylinder upside down in a bucket of water. They later took it away after ensuring it was empty and that the flat was safe for the family to move back in, he added.
Meanwhile, tenants and onlookers had gathered outside the building, Hussain said. “It was a huge relief, we were all shaken up by the fire. Some people thanked me for what I did.”
He added: “Everything happened very fast but I’m pretty sure there were no instructions on the extinguisher. There wasn’t time to read them anyway. I had learnt about using an extinguisher on YouTube as I’m interested in home safety and first aid. It pays to equip yourself with this knowledge, you never know when you might really need it.”
