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Dubai Fire. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 31, 2015 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: This is it for me right now. Our live coverage will continue with Fredricka Whitfield.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much, Brianna. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world right now.

We're following breaking news right now. Extraordinary images right there on your screen. Huge and potentially deadly fire engulfing a luxury hotel there. These pictures show the Address Hotel, that's what it's named, the Address Hotel in Dubai, a towering skyscraper 63 stories high there. The fire apparently starting on the 20th floor according to eyewitnesses. The flames then moving very rapidly upward, as you see right there. Some reports indicating flames from the ground to about the 40th floor again of this 63-story building. No word yet on deaths or even injuries or even a cause what started this blaze.

But what we can tell you is that this is happening near the Burj Hotel. That's the tallest building in the world. Many people recall seeing it in usually a very spectacular New Year's Eve display where one hour away from midnight and what was planned to be a spectacular fireworks show there. Thousands of hotel patrons there at the Address Hotel and nearby, New Year's Eve revelers, all running from that burning high-rise building as you saw in those images just moments ago with a witness telling us that she could feel the heat on her back as she ran.

So look at these extraordinary images. Someone who has an incredible vantage point right there, Bruce Szczepanski. You can see right there, just across the waterway is the Address Hotel.

So, Bruce, from your vantage point, we see the flames, the smoke that you've been able to eyewitness, but at what point did you realize there was trouble brewing right here from your viewpoint?

BRUCE SZCZEPANSKI, WITNESSED FIRE FROM NEARBY HOTEL: It came up all of a sudden. It started pretty lower than the 20th floor. Probably seventh or eighth. The flames went up quite quickly the center of the building. Went all the way probably at least over the 50th floor. It diminished a bit, but then there was a secondary from the embers. So as you can see now, it went from my vantage point, the left of the hotel, and it's burring quite extensively. The exterior was what went up. Probably the balconies. But now you can see, there's a video of the residents and of hotel (INAUDIBLE). It's a combination service department and a hotel. And many of those units now are fully engulfed.

WHITFIELD: Now earlier I could see from the vantage point where you're standing clearly on a balcony, we're hearing it's a little windy there, is that the lake that separates your unit from the Address Hotel, which would also be the same lake that separates that hotel from the Burj Hotel, the highest building, the tallest building in the world?

SZCZEPANSKI: It is. As you can see here, Burj Khalifa is here just to my right. And it is the - so what you have is the (INAUDIBLE), which is a retail development that's there and then adjacent to it is the Palace Hotel. And then, of course, the waterway you see here separating from my apartment building.

WHITFIELD: And tell me about what you know about the Address Hotel. We know it's a five star luxury hotel. We understand from eyewitnesses there may be dignitaries that are staying there, even royalty. Tell me about the attraction of that hotel.

SZCZEPANSKI: The attraction of the hotel is, of course, one of the tallest hotels in Dubai, downtown Dubai. And, of course, adjacent to the Dubai Mall. A beautiful hotel. Been there for many events. Ultimately it's a great destination. And to your point, many - many dignitaries and royalty do stay there. So it's probably a - it was a shame when I saw the fire and I knew what potentially could happen. A couple years ago we had a fire down in Tamira (ph) Beach Hotel, very similar, where the exterior went up. And I just saw the same thing happening here. So - (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: And so we know, you know, upwards of a million people would be there in Dubai for what is usually an incredible fireworks display on New Year's. Are people generally out in the streets, similar to what you would see in New York's Times Square, or are people spending their time in these high-rises so that they can get particular vantage point of the fireworks?

SZCZEPANSKI: So, again, you know, you'll see a lot - find a lot of people in the residents. But as you look down, there's what they call Burj Park and it's just probably 100,000 plus people are down there right now waiting for the fireworks to go off in the next hour. And, of course, there hasn't been an announcement yet whether that will continue or not based on the (INAUDIBLE) - the situation.

[14:05:04] WHITFIELD: We talked to - CNN talked to an eyewitness earlier who was at the Address, who was at a restaurant on the ground level and she said that the staff was amazing and they seemed to really know what to do in the case of this fire. Talk to me about the concern - you're an American living there in Dubai - your concern or perhaps the concern of others about the high-rises there and safety and evacuations, what kind of drillings perhaps happen on a regular basis even.

SZCZEPANSKI: So in my building particularly, they do run drills on a regular basis. The unit is fully sprinklered. My unit is probably about five years old. It's a masonry structure. Precast concrete. So I picked this because of that and knowing what the events that occurred a few years ago down in the marina district with the fire and recently they had the torch, which was one of the tallest residential towers, also had a fire similar to this. So again, you know, it is a chance you take when you live in a high-rise building. They do - Imar (ph), who is the developer here, does a great job with regards to, you know, fire safety with regard to the residents and that building there is also run by Imar, so I know that they probably had extensive training in - with regard to fire safety.

WHITFIELD: And, Bruce, give me an idea again. Did you hear anything unusual before you saw the flames? What did you experience before you, you know, witnessed the flames out of control as they are right now?

SZCZEPANSKI: So right now, you know, I was out on the balcony kind of watching. I actually had a photo of the building I took just before the fire. And, you know, it's just kind of a sense of euphoria. People laughing. You can hear them. The music was playing. And then all of a sudden you saw the flames and everyone was focused, running, you know, to kind of get a better vantage point. And then it - right now it's kind of a sense of silence out there. You don't hear anything.

WHITFIELD: And in terms of firefighting efforts, have you seen any air support, anything like that around the Address Hotel?

SZCZEPANSKI: I'm not seeing - there's a few helicopters flying over. It could be news crews. I've heard the fire trucks. They were well prepared. I know that from when I arrived here earlier today seeing the fire trucks setting up just for the events. So I know that they had quite a bit of equipment here available.

WHITFIELD: OK. Bruce Szczepanski, could you standby. We want to continue to look at the image. You have an extremely good vantage point from your balcony there. We'll continue to look at the Address Hotel.

Meantime, I want to bring in one of our correspondents, CNN's Becky Anderson. She is on the ground here in Dubai.

Becky, what are you seeing, what are you hearing?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, certainly it is - and has been an enormous fire. We do know that there are four separate teams of firefighters working to put out this fire according to Dubai's media office. And as we understand it, there are no casualties at this point.

Now, the fire at the Address Hotel in Dubai broke out on the 20th floor from the outside of the building as far as we understand it. We also understand that the fireworks, which are due to start in about 50 minutes time, as far as the Dubai authorities are concerned at this stage, will now go ahead. And clearly the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world, and right next door to the Address Hotel, is where you will see those fireworks, as you will see them in various other parts of Dubai.

So as things stand at the moment, the facts are these, that the - that the fire, it appears, broke out on the 20th floor. But there are four firefighting teams working to put the fire out. And at this stage, thankfully, there are no casualties as far as authorities are concerned.

WHITFIELD: And, Becky, that's what's so extraordinary here because this fire is breathtaking. It is frightening. And this is a multipurpose address, isn't it. The Address Hotel is not just a hotel, but it's a residence and there is a mall. Explain what you know about this particular building.

All right, it looks like we lost Becky there.

I wonder if Bruce is still with us. He's providing this incredible image from this balcony.

Bruce, if - there he is. If you can join me again. What do you know about the use of this multipurpose building, the Address Hotel, that it's residence, that it's a mall, that it's also a hotel.

SZCZEPANSKI: So there's retail on the ground level. A couple of restaurants. There's restaurants within the establishment. And, of course, there's service apartments. So it's a partial hotel, partial service apartments. On the top there's a restaurant called Nios (ph) on the 63rd floor. Adjacent to it, but not - there is a space between it, so it's not directly connected, is the (INAUDIBLE). There's resident apartments that are a part of that (INAUDIBLE) and also adjacent to it, again, is the Palace Hotel, which is a little further away.

[14:10:14] There are some secondary fires that have occurred from that (INAUDIBLE). The fire (INAUDIBLE) see where they were either rooftops, et cetera, that were burning. But I believe the fire department put those out. I don't see those - that smoke any more.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bruce, hold on for a moment. Again, for those of you who are just now joining us, Bruce Szczepanski happens to - is an American who happens to live there in Dubai. He is in his apartment balcony just across the lake there from the Address Hotel, where it is fully engulfed in flames. A 63-story building, hotel, residence, as you just heard Bruce, and also restaurants and shopping.

With us also is Josh Gatlin.

Josh, we understand you were just 200 feet away from this building when this fire started, which also is just across the way from the lake, from the Burj hotel, where the spectacular fireworks are to take place in just about 49 minutes from now. So, Josh, tell me about your experience.

JOSH GATLIN, AMERICAN IN DUBAI (via telephone): Well, as a resident of Abu Dhabi, my wife and I drove up here with another friend of ours. And, you know, it's - it's the biggest and greatest fireworks show on earth. And when you live in the area, you've got to come see it. And so we chose to do that and, you know, you hear of the millions of people that are here and the - the pain that it is to get, you know, to and from Dubai. And - but we got here and we wanted to see it and - and I'll tell you

what, it's just - words can't describe the feeling. I mean at first I - I felt it on my back, on the back of my neck. And as soon as they - you know, you feel the heat and then you start seeing iPhones come out. And, oh, God, what's going on behind me.

And, you know, it didn't take long. You know, some people sat and watched and some people started videoing it. But I grabbed my crew and we left. It - it went from - I mean it was certainly a significant fire by the time I saw it, but it went from a significant fire to that entire building is in flames and we need to - we need to get a little bit further away from it.

WHITFIELD: And that's what's so remarkable here is that we're hearing from eyewitness who say within seconds the flames just traveled up that building. So that you were on the street, am I right? You were on the street on a sidewalk when you felt the heat of those flames? Did you hear anything at about the same time that you were feeling that heat?

GATLIN: No, actually - you know, because this is such a big deal, obviously there is - there are some public viewings on the street. They closed off all the main streets around the Burj Khalifa and the surrounding areas. We had reservations at a restaurant months in advance. We were sitting out on a terrace. And, yes, so that's - that's basically - we - basically in a building attached - attached to the Address.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh.

GATLIN: And so we had to - luckily, we were one floor up from a ground level. We did - we could get out. We did kind of walk out of our garage. Luckily there's no traffic. They shut down traffic at 6:00 p.m. There's just so many people, so many barriers. It's such a logistical nightmare that, you know, it actually, because they had shut everything down, it actually appeared to me to make it easier to get out. There wasn't - there wasn't just a mad dash. It wasn't a stampede. Because of the - at least the logistical preparations, it appeared to aid in the evacuation.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

GATLIN: We talked about that. I never felt like I'm going to get run over.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's incredible, yes, because you're very calm as you tell this story. We're just now 45 minutes away from what would be scheduled to be that huge fireworks display at the Burj hotel, which is just across the waterway from this fire underway. We understand from Dubai officials, in fact, Josh, that the fireworks display is still scheduled to go on in 45 minutes. While this fire is still underway and you say people are very calm, there wasn't - there didn't appear to be running, I gather from you, or any real panic. But are you still making your way to the Burj, in that vicinity, to see the fireworks from the same location you had planned prior to this fire? GATLIN: Negative. So I'm quite certain that I would not be allowed

back to where I was. I'm - so I'm now, let's say, a block and a half away. It's the tallest building in the world. You pretty much have to be, oh, I don't know, 50 kilometers away from it before you can't see it. So whatever there is to see, I'll see it from - I can't get far enough away to not be able to see. So - but, no, we will not be going back where we were. It's - I would imagine that has been completely closed off. There - there was debris falling. It would be right under a debris field. So - so, no, I can't imagine they're allowing anyone to go where I was.

[14:15:24] WHITFIELD: So, Josh, you're very calm. You're very matter of -

GATLIN: (INAUDIBLE) I'm a couple of blocks.

WHITFIELD: You're very calm. You're very matter of fact about all this. But at the same time, are you concerned, fearful? Do you have any real trepidation about being there right now?

GATLIN: As a resident of Abu Dhabi, I can say that - it doesn't guess it matter where you are in the world. When you see something like that, of course your mind - your mind goes in 12 different directions. So but - I'm just - I'm - I'm not going to speculate on that. I didn't hear anything. I saw a fire. And I saw a really big fire. And for me to speculate on anything other than that would - would be irresponsible.

So I can tell you on the street, that was - that's my main concern. Again, I could be on the - on the streets of Poughkeepsie, it wouldn't matter. When something like that happens, you start looking around and trying to figure out, OK, where's my - where's my exit. Where's the trouble, where's my exit and start looking for things that - between you and the exit that could - that could cause you harm. And there didn't appear to be any of that. Emergency personnel and vehicles moving in, not recklessly, but obviously quickly. But - but for the most part, it was - it was - I don't know, it - it worked. Getting away worked.

And the thing that just - that breaks my heart is that it - it didn't work for some. And I - again, that's speculation on my part, but that's a -that's a big, big fire and I just - I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain and my heart around that part of it. So -

WHITFIELD: Yes, this is a huge, very significant fire. And we're all praying that everyone is OK. So far there are no reports of injuries or deaths. And looking at this fire, that is extraordinary to hear. Were you able, because you were in the proximity of that building earlier, were you able to see ambulances or anyone being rescued or the appearances of an organized evacuation? Were you able to witness that?

GATLIN: No, and I would say that just based on where I was and based on where the evacuation route for the Address, just based on how it is situated, I would think the evacuation would be in a little bit different direction than where I went. I'm certainly surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people right now that fled. You know, they were getting away. Now, whether or not any of these people - I mean I talked to a gentleman at a restaurant and he says, were you at the Address. He said that he spoke with somebody that was at the Address. So, you know, who knows where they went. It's a big, big area. So God help those that didn't (ph) - and that are still trying to get out. It's -

WHITFIELD: OK.

GATLIN: Yes. And I don't know what else to day. Just praying for them and God help them.

WHITFIELD: No, you're doing a great job, Josh. Yes, stick with us.

I want to bring in Bruce Szczepanski because it's his vantage point there on the left of your screen that we're seeing by way of his Skype. You're on your balcony there. Are you seeing anything different from your vantage point in the last oh I say six minutes or so that I've been talking to Josh, Bruce?

SZCZEPANSKI: Actually, yes. I - you could actually see the water from the fire trucks, as you can see on - to the right side of the building, which is closer to Sheik Mohammed (ph) Boulevard. But nothing over towards the Dubai mall side, which is to the left. So as you can see, it's - it's still fairly engulfed.

Also now are the units burning. It moved from the balcony's interior to the individual apartments/residence. I don't know where the split is between the hotel and the apartment side, but it's still fairly engulfed at this point in time.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Bruce, are you saying that there are two towers there? Like one side is residence -

SZCZEPANSKI: No, no, no, no.

WHITFIELD: No, OK. Describe that for me. What are you saying?

SZCZEPANSKI: It's - no, no, it's split - it's split in elevations. So I believe the hotel is on the lower half and the residents are in the upper half.

WHITFIELD: I see. Got it. And then, Bruce, you did a great job of kind of shifting your vantage point of your camera there for your Skype where we were able to see people gathering there at the foot of the Burj. Can you show us that again and give us an idea -

[14:20:04] SZCZEPANSKI: Sure.

WHITFIELD: The perspective that we're talking about, how thousands of people, upwards of a million, you know, throughout Dubai, but thousands of people there?

SZCZEPANSKI: This is the -

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. SZCZEPANSKI: This is what they call Burj Park. And this is really the optimum vantage point for the fireworks. You're as close as you can be to the Burj Khalifa. As you can see, it's a little dark now. They had it lit up earlier. But again it's - it's the closest point. And there's - they usually stop after 100,000 people, I'm estimating that are down there. It's quite packed, similar to what you'd find in Times Square. But usually it's a pretty joyous occasion. Tonight, it's not.

WHITFIELD: Right, mixed feelings now if indeed the Dubai authorities are telling us right now that the fireworks display is still scheduled to take place 40 minutes from now but I imagine the feelings are very mixed as you have this tower behind you still engulfed and then just across the waterway you would have a celebratory, you know, tone with these incredible fireworks display. Do you think at the last minute they might change their mind about that?

SZCZEPANSKI: You know, I - I have mixed feelings of whether they should have the fireworks tonight. I mean, again, you know, it's one of those events that is seen worldwide every year. And, you know, again, with this event going on behind, it's sad.

WHITFIELD: Ooh.

SZCZEPANSKI: There - there was a large explosion just now.

WHITFIELD: We just saw that.

SZCZEPANSKI: That was probably one of the restaurants.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh.

SZCZEPANSKI: So that's - those buildings are serviced by LP natural gas. So there could be - could be an issue there.

WHITFIELD: And what's your understanding - I know you said you have frequented the Address. Are there several restaurants, you know, throughout that building, say one on the rooftop or mid-way? I heard one of the patrons who was at a restaurant on the ground level earlier describe what she thought the fire to begin on the 20th floor at the mezzanine (ph). Would the mezzanine be on the 20th floor?

SZCZEPANSKI: No, no, no. So the restaurants are probably in the - there's a ground floor level that would be the lobby and that maybe a couple floors down all the way to where it would be the level of where the fountains would be, the Dubai fountains. And maybe one level up. And after that there's all of hotel and residents until you get to the very top and then there's one (INAUDIBLE) restaurant called Mios (ph) on the 63rd floor. So between that, those are all just apartments and service apartments and hotel rooms. So the restaurants are all at the lower level.

WHITFIELD: Got it.

SZCZEPANSKI: Probably where you saw that most recent explosion. It's probably from one of the restaurants. WHITFIELD: OK. Bruce, you're doing a great job of painting a picture for us for many of us who have not been there and know Dubai intimately.

Stick with us, though. We want to continue to look at your great vantage point there of this horrible fire that has engulfed the Address Hotel, which is also a residence and a mall and restaurants, as you just heard Bruce say.

With us now also is Soon Hong, joining me on the phone.

Soon, you are at a hotel in Dubai? How close to the Address are you?

SOON HONG, WITNESS (via telephone): Yes, I'm actually at the (INAUDIBLE) - I'm at the (INAUDIBLE) Hotel. And I - it's right across from the scene where it's happening. When I was setting up my camera to take pictures of the Burj Khalifa, I definitely heard something. And then when I looked up, the entire building was up in flames. It just happened within a few seconds. And I just have no clue as to what had happened and the building was just up in flames in a very short period of time.

WHITFIELD: And, again, your vantage point, how close - you said you were across the street?

HONG: I'm actually quite far because I am actually opposite the Dubai Mall, across the freeway. So I could actually see the entire building from the bottom to the top. So when it happened, it happened really quickly. The moment I looked up at my window, the entire building was already up in flames.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Have you seen - and we've seen various vantage - from various vantage points debris, you know, falling. It had been reported earlier from authorities that it appeared that maybe the fire started on the exterior of the building. What else have you seen that has made you take notice about this fire and the way in which it's been moving very rapidly?

[14:25:00] HONG: It happened I think horizontally. It was spreading horizontally. And then there was - it stopped for a - for a while. And then it - then all - it went up (INAUDIBLE). And then there was definitely a bit of debris falling now (ph). But from what I see now, it's still - it has - it's showing no signs of (INAUDIBLE) - yes.

WHITFIELD: And soon - we're actually looking at video at the right of our screen now that apparently you show and have provided for us and I think we're now seeing exactly what you're talking about in terms of the flames being on the exterior - what appear to be the exterior of the building as it's kind of climbing very rapidly. And then presumably just spreading to the interior of that building. Would that be a good description?

HONG: I don't think - I don't think so. I think it happened on the exterior of the building because when I was setting up my camera, it - as you can see in - from my footage, it's on the exterior. But now I think it's starting to spread into the building. WHITFIELD: Yes. And on the left-hand side of our screen, we are seeing what I do believe to be still the live Skype pictures there on the left-hand side of our screen. It certainly looks as though - and it is indeed the case that those flames have really fully engulfed are the interior of that building. Have you frequented the Address Hotel before?

HONG: No, I have never been, but I've - I've walked past it before. It's a very expensive and high-end five star hotel and a lot of people go there. And I definitely (INAUDIBLE) because after New Year's Eve countdown and everyone has left at that area (INAUDIBLE) see the fireworks spectacular. So I'm guessing there are lots of people in that area right now.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. All right, Soon Hong, thank you so much. And, again, thank you for your images that you also provided to us on the right-hand side of the screen, giving us a vantage point at the beginning stages of that fire. And now on the left side of the screen, the live via Skype images of that building. Sixty-three stories tall, fully engulfed in flames.

Also with us, John Dalziel.

John, I understand you were at a party just about four mile away? And what are you able to see?

JOHN DALZIEL, WITNESS (via telephone): Hey, I'm at (INAUDIBLE) race course (ph), which is a huge race course (ph) just outside of downtown Dubai. Tonight, 10,000 people are here. It's a sellout to see international DJ Martin (ph) (INAUDIBLE) perform live at midnight.

One of the big selling points and the reason this event sold out is one of the unique points of this party is that we get to see the Burj Khalifa crystal clear. All the fireworks in all their glory and enjoy a great night out. It's probably the next big event outside of downtown Dubai, apart from being in the fireworks themselves. We were promised great views.

However, also of an hour ago, it all turned into chaos here as we could see the flames come from the building next door, the Address. I just want to confirm (INAUDIBLE) there are no flames or fire coming from the Burj Khalifa itself. It's the building next door, as you've explained, the Address.

We could see the flames engulfing the complete entire left-hand side of the Address. The smoke just filling the skyline here in Dubai. And then that, in turn, setting off some of the fireworks that had been planned for mid-night here. We've been told that the Address was due to be part of the fireworks spectacular tonight and obviously the fire had set those off. And you could see debris and sparks and bits of fire was coming from the building.

And we'll be honest now. Earlier on, I would say until about ten minutes ago, the Burj Khalifa was completely lit up by very powerful lights and LED screens. They've since been turned off. However, we're being told that the fireworks will go ahead as planned. And although the chaos kicked off here at the (INAUDIBLE) race course, security did a very stern job in reassuring that 10,000 people here that the party's OK, everybody stay, and the party for New Year's Eve will carry on in Dubai as planned.

WHITFIELD: And, John, just to underscore some of what you said, officials are indeed saying to us that the spectacular light show, the fireworks display, is still scheduled to happen, now 31 minutes from now, at the Burj Khalifa that you speak of, the world's tallest building. And we also understand from Dubai officials that 14 reported injuries are being declared by Dubai officials. That fire, however, still fully engulfing the Address Hotel and residence and the restaurants there.

[114:29:56] Earlier, while you were talking, John, and describing the party that you're attending miles away and that you have this great vantage point of the Burj Khalifa and that's why many people are there, we were also looking at images of people who were being evacuated. It looked in a - in a very, you know, fairly calm manner considering the volume of people who --