Investigation into Dubai hotel fire continues as contractor hired to restore The Address

The DUTCO Group has been hired to restore The Address Downtown Dubai, after a fire ripped through the 63-storey building on New Year’s Eve. An investigation is underway following the blaze at the five-star hotel in the emirate. CNN reported local officials claiming the blaze, which took four fire crews 20 hours to put out, started on the 20^th floor of The Address Downtown Dubai, which sits in the city centre opposite the Burj Khalifa tower. Dubai authorities have not reported any fatalities in the fire, but confirmed that 16 people were injured, suffering mostly minor injuries, and two, including a pregnant woman, remained in hospital overnight for observation. The nearby Palace Hotel was also evacuated. Dubai’s New Year fireworks show went on as scheduled, however. Emaar Properties, which operates The Address, pledged to reopen the hotel, but have, so far, not given a date for that. The company hired the Dubai-based DUTCO Group to clean and restore the building which, they say, was fully insured for fire. “As soon as clearing and assessment work is completed, construction will commence as per a tightly scheduled calendar,” an Emaar statement said. Emaar’s hospitality division accounted for 12% of the firm’s revenue in the nine months to 30 September, 2015, its financial statements show. The hotel’s website claims the venue “set international benchmarks with its excellent hospitality and service standards”. It was not immediately clear whether the hotel’s large ballroom or meetings spaces suffered serious damage in the fire.