79-story apartment tower on fire in Dubai

This looks just horrible....hope everyone made it out OK although it doesn't look too good....
 
http://gizmodo.com/a-79-f...-is-on-fire-1687110144

It was three quarters of a mile from my apartment. The high winds cannot of helped. I did not actually see anything as my route into work takes me in the opposite direction. Visability is very bad at hen moment due to the dust storms we are suffering.
 
All reports seem to suggest everyone got out safely, but there might have been some people with smoke inhalation injuries.
 
Ironically the building is call "The Torch"
 

sharke
Here's me thinking these buildings were supposed to be fireproof, i.e. a fire would not spread from one floor to the other. 

You would have thought that it would take a major fire to spread over such a wide area so quickly. It should be possible to contain it in one area long enough to put it out.
 
Its not the first time its happened in Dubai. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EXGvUCIdUc
This one was blamed on waste materials catching fire by a discarded cigarette butt http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/emergencies/cigarette-butt-caused-tamweel-tower-fire-1.1114231
 

 
 
From the thread/link you posted.
NBC has been hoping that this would go away with time, but I think this is stuck to him forever.
 
I was glad to see only four injuries.
 
J

Glyn Barnes
I was going to walk down that area tonight but the wind and dust suppressed my morbid curiosity. A good day to stay indoors.

GOOD... you know something might be ready to fall off that building. There has to be a LOT of structural damage to what is left of the cladding.
BTW, does the dust get in everything?
How hot does it get there?
Is Dubai the place where they threw a guy in jail for years because he had a pot seed or a bit of bud stuck in the sole tread of his athletic shoe at the airport?
What is the law like there? Are they really hard nosed? Could you wear a cross on a chain or carry a Bible there?
Can you get an ale there?
Are the jails/prisons notorious? (Not that I think you have first hand info..lol). 
I'm really curious... I've never been to the middle east and these days it looks like I will never get to go to the places I'd really like to visit. I've been to most of the continental United States. Been to Ontario a couple of times. Been to Germany. I need to get out more...
I'd love to see Lebanon, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and some other exotic places but they have become so unsafe, heck it is just as unsafe 30 miles from here at night... for me at least. I guess I could settle for the Mediterranean coast of Greece or the beach on the Black Sea. Moscow is probably safe enough, however... If it were safe, my first choice of places to visit for an extended stay would be Afghanistan. Not the city but one of the tribal areas. I think that would be a truly enriching experience... not worth dying for though.
 
Sorry for the ramble. I really am interested in what it is like living in Dubai. Also, do you get out and around to other countries?

Weather wise Dubai is good from October to May with the exception of the odd storm, the summers are hot and humid sometime 50c

Oman is worth a visit. Stunning landscape and you stand more chance of encountering real Arabic culture than in Dubai and it's equally stable.

Sound's nice. Enjoy and be safe. Yes, Syria is a mess and I imagine the regular people are pretty much decent there and everywhere. It is the politicians and the loud minority that always causes trouble, the regular people always get caught in the middle it seems.
 
Thanks!

I had a chance to go there to be some kind of English language helper (for those that already know English, but would like to learn more of the nuances).  The pay was astronomical, but I sweat in 60 degree (F) weather.  I can't imagine having to deal with what they consider "normal" temperatures!