New Year’s Eve blaze at Dubai: Government praises the Airbus Defence and Space Tetra network as life-saving technology

In the aftermath of the huge blaze in the 63-storey high-rise “The Address Downtown Hotel” in Dubai on New Year’s Eve, the Dubai government expressed its gratitude to Airbus Defence and Space for having provided a life-saving communication technology. “We made the right decision in procuring a Tetra-based Professional Mobile Radio system, which worked reliably and independently,” wrote Mansoor Juma Buosaiba, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Nedaa Professional Communication Corporation, in a letter to Airbus Defence and Space. Furthermore, the company, a government institution running the Tetra mobile network in Dubai, pointed out that Airbus Defence and Space’s technology and contribution “saved many lives.”

On New Year’s Eve, it seems like a miracle that about 200 fire-fighters and other public safety organisations managed to evacuate hotel guests from 800 rooms, among them about 20 people with minor injuries. Many observers of the incident considered the entire rescue mission as a great success, because of the fire-fighters’ excellent organisation and professionalism.

Even though a large number of people gathered in the vicinity around the 302 metre high hotel skyscraper, the rescuers under the command of the Dubai Civil Defence were able to perfectly conduct their mission with Professional Mobile Radio devices from Airbus Defence and Space. “This was an extreme situation in which people can easily panic, and conventional mobile networks could break down. However, this incident has shown that communication solutions from Airbus Defence and Space met the demanding requirements of public safety professionals”, explains Zoltan Wirth, Head of Middle East & APAC of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space. “Our products offer significant advantages, such as reliability and availability under all circumstances.”

Nevertheless, Dubai’s public service organisations succeeded in accessing the hotel building and contained the fire quickly. As they had to make many calls in order to block roads, carry out evacuations and locate people, the Tetra network of Airbus Defence and Space was the vital backbone of the mission. It works completely independent of commercial networks and every rescuer is equipped by an Airbus Defence and Space device, in order to be available at any time.