The police staged an experiment at their headquarters to reach the conclusion…

Dubai Police have revealed the likely cause of the Torch Tower fire that broke out earlier this month. The fire in the 86-storey building, which happened at around 1am on Friday August 4, was safely evacuated and thankfully no one was hurt, although 38 flats were left damaged.

Now a report by the Khaleej Times has revealed the fire was likely caused by a burning cigarette butt thrown from an upper floor. 

According to Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, the cigarette butt was thrown from an upper floor and landed in a pot plant on the balcony of one of the floors below. From here, it seems the plant may have caught fire and the blaze then spread to the cladding of the building.

Some Torch Tower residents were previously told the fire started due to a BBQ. 

The Commander in Chief also said that the police confirmed their conclusion through an experiment at police headquarters. In the experiment they threw a burning cigarette butt onto plants, and this allowed them to reach the conclusion.

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In the same report, Ibtisam Al Abdouli, director of the criminal evidence department, said the investigation into the fire was completed by the police within 10 days.

It is not the first time a fire has broken out at Torch Tower. The tower, which was finished in 2011, also caught fire in 2015. In 2016, the UAE government approved extensive recladding works for the building.

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