JEDDAH, 25 June 2007 — Firefighters found two bodies in the debris from Saturday’s fire in Harrat Al-Madloum in downtown Jeddah, in the area known as Balad. The death toll now stands at three. The two bodies are of a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, both Somali nationals.
Their parents had reported them missing, saying the flames kept them from rescuing the children. In addition to the two children, a Somali woman in her 20s died when, in an attempt to escape the flames, she jumped from the top floor of the four-story building. Civil defense personnel said that she jumped before they arrived at the scene.
Fifteen families, all Somalis, lived in the building. One of the tenants said that the fire was caused by a cooking gas cylinder exploding in an apartment on the second floor. Those on the third and fourth floors were trapped.
Firefighters rescued 15 people from the two upper floors before the building collapsed. Among the injured were three men and an infant girl who were taken to a nearby hospital. A total of eight people were reported injured with the most common injury being broken bones. The eight are said to be in stable condition.
A fire department source said that many of the old buildings in Jeddah’s historic district are considered fire hazards. The buildings are often constructed of wood and limestone and the wood makes them flammable. Many shopowners, however, use the old houses for storage; the houses are convenient to shops and goods can be easily moved from house to shop.
Another problem, according to a civil defense official, is that the old buildings are very close to each other and if one catches fire, the blaze can easily spread to others. The closeness of the buildings also makes it difficult for firefighters to reach the location of any fire.
On Saturday, firemen were seen on the roofs of nearby buildings hosing them down to prevent the fire from spreading.
Civil defense officials said that on arrival they had found the building engulfed in flames and that the fire had spread to two adjacent buildings. Two buildings were destroyed as a result of the fire; no one was hurt in the second as the occupants were evacuated before it caught fire.
“This is a tragedy... not only we lose three lives, we lost two beautiful historical houses on Saturday,” said Sami Nawwar, head of the Culture and Tourism department of the Jeddah Municipality. He added that his department was campaigning to create greater safety awareness in the area. According to reports, the two buildings raised the number of buildings destroyed by fires in the historical area to 65. The Balad is a historical area and the government is keen to preserve it.
