MADINAH – Salih Al-Adwani, who lost seven children in a house fire in Madinah Saturday, recounted his tragic experience to Al-Madinah newspaper. Al-Adwani said he and his wife were on an outing when a neighbor called him and said his house was on fire. When they reached the scene they saw heavy smoke bellowing from the house and firefighters battling the fire. Al-Adwani tried to go into the house and save his children trapped inside but was prevented by heavy smoke. “I thank Almighty Allah for everything. May Allah have mercy on my children's souls,” said the bereaved father. Ayman Al-Saadi, an eyewitness, said neighbors who gathered at the scene unsuccessfully tried to save the children. They broke the front door and made their way through the heavy smoke. However, they managed to save only some people inside. Fayez Al-Ahmadi, another neighbor, said he saw heavy smoke coming out of the windows. He and some other neighbors pulled the air-conditioners out and got into the house from the windows before the firefighters arrived at the scene. “I told the firefighters that there were many people trapped inside. They went in to save them. But two of the firefighters fainted and their colleagues had to carry them out,” said Al-Ahmadi. Because the firefighters were preoccupied with saving their colleagues they could not save the children, Al-Ahmadi said. He said 15 minutes later, they got into the house from another side and rescued an elderly woman. The neighbors were still trying to get the children out of the burning house, but an officer asked them to stay away and stop hindering the firefighters' work, Al-Ahmadi said. He blamed the slow reaction from firefighters for the death of the children. “The nearest Civil Defense station is 200 meters away from the house. However, only two firefighters showed up and there were no rescue units with them.” Muhammad Waheeb, a relative of the family, accused firefighters of negligence and not responding quickly enough to save people trapped inside.
Seven children choked to death in the disaster. Samar, 10, is still in the ICU and her condition is critical while her grandmother was moved to the ward. Waheeb thanked the neighbors who risked their lives in their attempt to save his relatives. — SG
