Dozens evacuated after Dubai fire

Scores of people were evacuated from buildings in the Oud Metha area of Dubai today after a fire broke out at a nearby shoe store. The fire started in the Orlando Magic shoe store, located on the ground floor of the Al Faris Hotel Apartments at around 11am. Residents of the hotel apartment ran out into the street as fire engines rushed to the scene. "We smelt the smoke and knew there was something wrong. The alarm went off and we had just 30 seconds to pick what we could and run out," said a resident of the building. 'We were attending customers when we smelt the smoke. We saw that a few shoe boxes caught fire and it was spreading rapidly," said an attendant at the store. By 12pm, firemen had managed to extinguish the fire. The blaze is suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the store. Dubai Civil Defence officials said that there were no injuries. pmenon@thenational.ae