Danger at Yemen Times! [Archives:2005/864/Front Page]
August 1 2005
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Yemen Times staff
The technician Mr. Ameen al-Kamil was the first one to know about the fire “we had been using the power generator since the morning as it was printing day. At about five thirty I started hearing a funny sound from the generator followed by a huge spark from the outlet. I realized there was an electric short especially when I heard a muffled explosion within the generator and the smoke started to rise. Obviously the power went off and smoke was getting heavier.” Ameen went to call for help, at the press there were three more employees and they used the fire extinguisher to try and get rid of the smoke. One of them sent an alarm call to Mr. Khair aldin deputy chair person who rushed to the press and ordered to evacuate the 30 people in the building. In less than five minutes Mr. Fatih al-Din Mohammed Ali of the cuccor police was in the scene. “I saw the fire from the main street and I rushed to the scene. We are trained to rescue and in emergencies.” His officer lieutenant Nafie Ahmed al-Khateeb confirmed to this.
The firemen were present at about 15 minutes from the call, and the smoke was getting too dark and spreading from the press. The Yemen Times staff along with the firemen used more than five fire extinguishers and opened doors for fresh air and gradually the smoke subsided. After a couple of minutes the scene became quite and the firemen were doing their job. The police was still investigating the cause of the fire in the generator while the rest of Yemen Times staff went to back to work. Yaser al-Mayasi known journalist of the Yemen Times confirmed that even though this happened, it is just a technical problem and we will issue on time!
Mohammed Ali, translator at the Yemen Times comments on me taking this story: “Where can a man entertain his guests other than his fireside?!” referring to an English man who was telling jokes while his house was burning.
Anyway the investigation is still going on and we will tell you what happened in the next issue.
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