Villa Rotana Dubai, Dubai Civil Defense stage mock fire and evacuation drill

People were being taken out on stretchers and firefighters and security officials were rushing in. This was the scene in Villa Rotana Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road. It was a mock fire drill.

The drill, which started around 11:00am on Thursday, lasted for one hour and tested the rescue capabilities of police, civil defense and the safety and security team at the hotel.

The Civil Defense conducted the mock fire drill and evacuation exercise at Villa Rotana Dubai to check the preparedness of their emergency team as well as the hotel's.

The drill comes as part of Civil Defense's annual plan for emergency exercises and drills.

Guests at the hotel were briefed in advance and several chose to participate as they fully supported the hotel initiative and concern for their safety.

Mr. Hani Mansour, General Manager of Villa Rotana Dubai, commented saying:

"Hotels can face a wide range of emergency situations and these emergency and evacuation plans try to anticipate most of those. However, the primary aim of this exercise was to reinforce our safety procedures within the property. It also trains the property staff in fire prevention, evacuation, fire safety, use of fire extinguishers and first aid."

Mr. Mansour added, "A special thanks goes to Dubai Civil Defense and the Engineering department at the Villa Rotana Dubai who organized this fire drill, also to mention the great effort of the firefighting team, the ambulance department and Dubai Police team who showed a quick response on site."