Learning from our experiences: #DubaiFire

Credit: Off Facebook

Nothing makes us stronger than learning from our experiences; no matter how painful they can be. When one recounts the evening of ringing in 2016, we recall Dubai's outstanding performance in handling the fire situation to come out of it still strong at the stroke of midnight. Everyone's concern was the safety of the people of course, and rest assured, 14 minor injuries, and 1 moderate case is far from being a matter of luck.

Fire Safety and Security in Buildings

It has been announced that the cause of the fire was possibly due to an electric fault. How the fire was spread to engulf almost the entirety of the building is probably best explained by this 2012 article by The National on the use of flammable panelling in the UAE.

If this proves to be the case, it is most certain now that most, if not all, high profile hotels and buildings (at least in Dubai) making use of this type of material will be directed to be refitted with panelling material more in compliant with international fire-safety regulations.

Crisis Management using Social Media

Crisis communication is one of the specialized focus areas of public relations. Depending on how the communication plan is implemented, public opinion can either sway towards supporting you, or heavily criticizing you. 

While tackling the fire, the various communication channels have made sure to keep the public up to date with what was going on as it happened. It was as if somehow, though unannounced, putting out the fire became part of our new year's countdown to 2016. People kept on wondering, will the Burj dazzle us at midnight, and the dazzle us it did (though the show was scaled down) to remind everyone that Dubai is and will always remain strong in front of all the challenges it faced.

On January 3, Dubai Police posted the below video on its Youtube channel. After watching it, once again you feel the strength and importance of using social media for the positioning of a brand image, in our case here, Dubai.

The short 1min 40 seconds clip is a recount of the main events that happened that evening. Starting from the opening scene of everyone gathered at the NYE's fireworks main control center, leading up to when the fire breaks out, and followed by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum (the son of the Ruler of Dubai) joining the Civil Defence team heroically fighting off the fire hands on. The closing shot is a message to the public from Dubai Police emphasizing "your safety is our happiness".

Moving forward

Just recently, Emaar had announced that a contractor has been appointed to restore our beloved Address Downtown hotel to its architectural all time glory, and more. Certainly, we will once again be amazed with record breaking completion of this restoration...and trust me when I say, it will be well publicized.

It is also with most likelihood that fire engineering and safety guidelines and its implementation will be scrutinized, and a possible market for fire preventive technologies can play a big role in the coming year as there is probably no more room (from an emotional perspective) for any more fires to break out, at least for the coming year.

Dubai still continues to deal with the issue, even though the fire has been out for days now, as it is taking care of all the guests who have been displaced due to what had happened. One way it can still sway this to its favour, and use it to build on its positive image, is by working towards a 2017 new year's celebration that is concentrated on the Downtown area with a fully restored and functional Address Downtown Hotel being a part of the attention instead of just the Burj. I'm sure that will get many feeling very emotional and proud of Dubai yet again.

I am very glad that there weren't any serious injuries from that evening, and I am even more proud of the leadership and the different teams whom continue to teach us that Dubai is truly the city of life. Salute to our leadership, salute to the Civil Defence and Dubai Police, and salute to the people of the UAE.

Happy new year everyone!