Tenants of an eight-storey <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/dubai/" target="_blank">Dubai</a> building engulfed in flames on Sunday night knocked on neighbours doors to alert them of the danger after fire alarms failed to sound. A large blaze spread rapidly through the mid-rise tower in Al Barsha, located near to the Mall of Emirates, at about 10.30pm, as many of its occupants slept. The fire broke out at the Time Topaz Hotel Apartments at about 10.33pm, with teams from Dubai Civil Defence arriving within five minutes to battle the intense blaze. No one was injured, authorities told <i>The National</i>. Staff at a nearby hotel said<i> </i>that some of the affected residents have been moved to their property. A man, who witnessed the incident, said firefighters quickly arrived on the scene. "I had gone to the Mall of the Emirates to pick up my daughter when I saw the huge fire. It was spreading fast, and the fire crew efficiently contained it from spreading to the back of the building," he told <i>The National</i>. At 11.48pm the fire was brought under control and cooling operations were under way, authorities said. Some tenants told <i>The National </i>that the fire alarms did not go off and they had to knock on doors to alert fellow residents. Mohamed Faslin, a Sri Lankan expat who lives on the sixth floor, said he didn't know about the fire until someone knocked on his door. “Once I got out, I also went about knocking on my neighbours' doors to help them get out.” The 32-year-old, who works for a restaurant, has been living in the building for the past three months. Saroja Mahatara, a tenant from Nepal, said she was asleep when the fire broke out. “There was no fire alarm. If Mohamed hadn’t knocked on our door and woke us up, we wouldn’t have known anything,” she told <i>The National.</i> Another tenant from Nepal, Yubraz Dsital, said he woke up hearing loud screams. "I immediately rushed out of the building,” he said, adding that he saw many of his neighbours had made it out safely. He expressed concern about finding temporary accommodation while waiting for clearance from the officials to return to his apartment. Ravi Kumar, an Indian tenant, said some people who lived in the apartment block had moved to nearby hotels and hotel apartments, while others were provided buses by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority to rest in. There is heavy police presence at the site, with no tenants allowed back into the building yet. "The site has been handed over to the relevant authorities to determine the cause of the fire," a spokesperson from the Dubai Civil Defence added. On Sunday, fire crews tackled a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/12/29/dubai-fire-marina-harbour/" target="_blank">blaze on a boat</a> docked beside a marine petrol station in Dubai Marina Harbour. The incident sent smoke billowing across the area but was extinguished within half an hour, civil defence said. <i>With reporting by Ali Al Shouk</i>
