Fire breaks out at tower in Dubai’s JLT

A fire has broken out at a tower in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) area of Dubai.

Smoke was seen rising from the top of Almas Tower, which is the tallest building in JLT and serves as the headquarters of the free zone’s operator Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.

Twitter user @adnaanjp posted a picture of the blaze.

A video was also posted online by @JoseBerrocoso showing smoke and flames concentrated at the top of the building’s spire.

#AlmasTower in #JLT #Dubai on fire hope everybody is safe. pic.twitter.com/RAmTrafhI0

— José Berrocoso (@JoseBerrocoso) April 22, 2018

Dubai Media Office said the city’s civil defence was “working to put out a minor fire” at the tower.

Dubai Civil Defence is working to put out a minor fire that broke out in Almas Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. All employees and visitors are being evacuated and no injuries have been reported so far.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 22, 2018

The smoke had mostly faded by 4:00pm local time.

In a later statement at 4:50pm, Dubai Media Office said civil defence had brought the fire fully under control.

“The building was evacuated safely. No injuries have been reported,” it said.

JLT and the nearby Dubai Marina have experienced a number of building fires in recent years.

In 2012, a cigarette was blamed for a major blaze at Tamweel Tower in JLT. Residents were prevented from moving back into the property for years due to delays to refurbishment work and new fire safety regulation.

Read: Cigarette Caused Tamweel Tower Dubai Fire

Across Sheikh Zayed Road, the Torch Tower on the edge of Dubai Marina caught fire twice in two years with the last blaze reported in August 2017.

That blaze was also blamed on a recklessly thrown cigarette.

Read: Dubai police reveal cause for Torch Tower fire

Authorities in Dubai told building owners last year to make facades more resistant to flames after flammable external cladding was blamed for allowing a number of high-rise blazes to spread more quickly.

Read: Dubai begins replacing skyscraper facades after series of fires