Residents who live in The Torch recount that the flame was travelling by floors through burning materials that fell on balconies. An official of the building said on Saturday that the fire, which hit Dubai's and one of the world's tallest residential skyscrapers, didn't just travel though balconies but was probably started as a carelessly thrown cigarette butt on a balcony.

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The unnamed official told Khaleej Times that this is not the first time that a cigarette butt was the cause of a fire, citing the blaze that burned the Tamweel Tower in JLT in 2012.

He insisted that the building is not negligent on safety regulations, citing its compliance with regular fire drills, enforcement of other building regulations and policies.

"People here just don't care about the safety of others. They don't understand the consequences of a cigarette butt flung from a balcony," the man said, citing that he just saw a 70^th floor resident of Princess Tower throw a cigarette whom he wanted to slap.

Another red flag for the official is the proliferation of the sheeshas not only in Torch but also in almost all buildings in Marina with every third balcony having the smoking device.

He pointed out that a cigarette flung or a sheesha left outside, when exposed to oxygen, could flare up and burn through steel. "An 80kmph wind can wreak havoc if it takes along a piece of burning coal," he adds.

Although there were no fatalities in the fire, the Dubai Civil Defence said that seven people had minor injuries, mostly from suffocation. The fire started on the 51^st floor of the building and reached up to the 86^th floor of the 87-storey skyscraper - the fifth tallest in the world. The Torch has 676 units.

The fire, which started around 2 a.m. on Saturday, raged for about 2 hours and was declared under control by firefighters by 4:24 a.m.

Select Group, the developer, said all 1,000 occupants were safely evacuated and have been allowed back to the tower.

TagsDubai, The Marina Torch, fire, sheesha