Skyscraper on fire in Dubai

[Eunos_Cosmo]

The US and Europe, to a slightly lesser degree, have extremely strict area-separation regulations. This applies vertically & horizontally. You cannot have continuous volumes over a certain size (depending on the area/city, occupancy type, materials, sprinkler system, etc) which helps prevent the spread of flames. When a fire is detected, a modern building will automatically close fire separation partitions -- even within HVAC ducts -- and doors preventing the fire from moving to different areas of the building. I suspect that Dubai does not have as strict of fire safety laws, meaning there are likely very tall vertical volumes with minimal fire separation. Fire safety is basically the primary design consideration in tall building design in the US, and for good reason.

People tend to think that steel is fireproof. It isn't. It doesn't burn, but it is certainly not fireproof. It loses strength as it heats up until the point where the structural load on the steel is higher than the compromised steel can support, and then it deforms plastically, usually with catastrophic results. In regards to the WTC, those buildings did an admirable job of containing the fire and staying vertical as long as they did. There were as many as 35,000 people in those buildings at the time of the fire, meaning somewhere between probably 15-30,000 people escaped.

(I'm an architect and have worked on multiple tall buildings in the US & Europe)

 

[Robin]

This is probably crass of me to say, but I wonder if it might be down to the extra power demands from ex-pats' Christmas decorations on the power supplies in the two buildings discussed in this thread.

Most of them don't pay for their electricity as it's part of the expat allowances, especially in a managed building, so they might overdo it with the decorations in addition to leaving everything else on. It could possibly be overloading of the electrical supply cabling up the building. I'm not sure what cause was identified for the first fire.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Other outlets seem to be reporting it has to do with combustible exterior cladding. Who's great idea was that for a high rise building?

 

[mustafur]

Other outlets seem to be reporting it has to do with combustible exterior cladding. Who's great idea was that for a high rise building?

This is actually been a problem in Australia, people have been dodging building regulations to save on costs and the fires created from this look the exact same as the ones in Dubai, the material isn't designed to be combustible but the material used is very cheap and happens to be, simply flicking a cigarette at a wall will light the entire complex like a christmas tree.

 

[Robin]

Another day, another Skyscraper on fire in Dubai... and this one's not even finished yet!

 

[Dotini]

Another day, another Skyscraper on fire in Dubai... and this one's not even finished yet!

An article on skyscraper fires in Dubai - with excellent graphics. The problem seems to be plastic-stuffed aluminum cladding.
http://gizmodo.com/when-will-dubai-fix-its-burning-skyscraper-problem-1751398645

 

[Robin]

It's happened AGAIN

Large fire rips through Dubai's Torch Tower

A large fire has ripped through a residential skyscraper in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates - for the second time in two years.

Footage posted on social media showed flames spreading up the Torch Tower, and burning debris falling down.

Civil defence officials have "successfully evacuated" the building and are now working to bring the blaze under control, Dubai's authorities say.

It is not clear what caused the fire in one of the world's tallest buildings.

The Torch was damaged by an earlier blaze in 2015.

 

[Dennisch]

What's the point of having a torch that isn't on fire?

 

[Thematic]

Probably to be merely lit.

 

[ToyGTone]

How old are the majority of thsee buildings? Did they just "rush" them and did a bad job at safety requirements?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

That's pretty scary. It looks like it went through all levels. Bad electrical work? gas explosion?

 

[mustafur]

How old are the majority of thsee buildings? Did they just "rush" them and did a bad job at safety requirements?

Its the cladding, likely using very cheap products sourced from China.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Its the cladding, likely using very cheap products sourced from China.

Or London*.

*Bad joke.

 

[Robin]

How old are the majority of thsee buildings? Did they just "rush" them and did a bad job at safety requirements?

Nearly everything in Dubai is around a decade old including The Torch built in 2007. A lot of buildings were rushed during the economic boom and lots of unskilled migrant labour was used however this wouldn't really have any bearing on the material properties of the cladding.

Its the cladding, likely using very cheap products sourced from China.

This cladding is almost certainly from Europe as the UAE has very strong ties to western suppliers and contractors.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Nearly everything in Dubai is around a decade old including The Torch built in 2007. A lot of buildings were rushed during the economic boom and lots of unskilled migrant labour was used however this wouldn't really have any bearing on the material properties of the cladding.

This cladding is almost certainly from Europe as the UAE has very strong ties to western suppliers and contractors.

RFCs are very often unanswered when creating the final spec for buildings in this area. It seems that local contractors (the only option) who are carrying material costs will find ways to undercut those costs without the knowledge of the original engineering team. Western engineers have, I can apocryphally tell you, been known to accept lucrative offers for their silence.

 

[mustafur]

If that cladding is from europe ill eat my hat, the reason these style fires don't happen in Europe as common as Dubai is because they have cutted costs somewhere, whether it's the middleman or what not.

Maybe UAE need better building regulations as well, I mean this latest building has burned twice already, so someone hasn't really looked into it.

 

[ukfan758]

How are the Dubai skyscraper fires involving the cladding not resulting in numerous deaths and the ignition of the entire building like the one in London?

 

[ToyGTone]

How are the Dubai skyscraper fires involving the cladding not resulting in numerous deaths and the ignition of the entire building like the one in London?

What if UAE Government lied and that there were actual death and injuries involved? I know that's a weird thing for me to say but what if?

 

[Robin]

If that cladding is from europe ill eat my hat, the reason these style fires don't happen in Europe as common as Dubai is because they have cutted costs somewherit.

Hundreds of buildings in London alone were found to have the same European cladding as Grenfell Tower and would have ignited in a similar fashion if exposed to fire. Dubai being hot is probably a large factor as stuff can overload pretty easily.

 

[PeterJB]

How are the Dubai skyscraper fires involving the cladding not resulting in numerous deaths and the ignition of the entire building like the one in London?

My guess is the majority of Emirati citizens cannot afford to live in these posh, oil-subsidised buildings...

 

[Johnnypenso]

How are the Dubai skyscraper fires involving the cladding not resulting in numerous deaths and the ignition of the entire building like the one in London?

Properly working sprinkler and smoke removal systems would go a long way towards this.

 

[TenEightyOne]

springler systems

Maybe, but they're not very pleasant for elderly escapees.