“Come with me, come with me. Slowly, slowly.” A voice can be repeatedly heard, as the entire place was engulfed in smoke; sirens blaring and water coming from sprinklers.
Then comes a man wearing a chequered shirt and shorts, and gas mask with oxygen tank on his back, being told to go down and briefly crawl through a locked door – cut in half – to walk out of a flooded hallway.
It was a scene that would have made into an action-packed rescue movie. But it was real. There were no props and it happened on Saturday during a daring and methodical rescue by Dubai’s Civil Defence and Dubai Police rescue teams of a resident caught inside a burned apartment of a medium-rise residential building in International City.
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In a two-minute video shared by Dubai Media Office (DMO) to Khaleej Times, firefighters showed their “commitment to sacrifice and immense efforts to safeguard lives and properties in Dubai.”
The man was not immediately identified but he was led to safety by the rescuers who never left his side.
Some firemen can be heard saying ‘slowly, slowly’; while one rescuer was leading the way and another holding the man’s back for support, and others giving assurances, ‘don’t worry, no problem, no problem’.
The man, obviously dazed and confused, is seen stopping and catching his breath before proceeding to go down the staircase from the top floor of the burned building. After checking he was okay, the firemen led him out to safety.
The fire was successfully contained and the building was evacuated to ensure the safety of its residents, an official from DCD confirmed to Khaleej Times.
One resident, however, died and two others were injured. Firefighters were immediately deployed to the incident area to put out the blaze. Authorities did not confirm yet the cause of the fire.