Colonel Al-Sharani told Lesson News that several firefighters' units arrived at the scene as soon as they received reports of a fire in the control room of the Civil Defense, which immediately began operations to evacuate the plaza.
The fire destroyed two floors of the cinema hall, but no casualties were reported. People at the adjacent residential hotel experienced severe problems due to smoke in the plaza. The smoke rising from the plaza also filled the adjoining building, where civil defense units evacuated 219 people and moved them to a safe location.
The fire started from the underground cinema hall in the plaza and the smoke filled the plaza and adjoining hotels, causing residents to face severe problems.
Colonel Al-Sharani further said that the smoke was left unattended for the 15 people who were rushed to the hospital by ambulance of Hilal-ul-Ahmar after receiving first aid on the spot.
Relevant teams began work to investigate the fire at the Commercial Plaza to identify the cause of the fire.
It should be noted that the blaze took place at a commercial plaza in Al-Adama area, east of Dammam. The final stages of cinema preparation were on two floors of the plaza. There was a residential hotel adjacent to the plaza, where enough people were staying at the time of the fire.