The ‘unsung hero’ who saved hundreds of lives in Jofeh

AMMAN — “It was only a minute or two after my brother left the building when it collapsed. He was the last to leave,” said Nasser Al Hajj, a retired municipal official and a resident of the first of three buildings that collapsed in Jabal Al Jofeh neighbourhood in east Amman.

The five-storey building was inhabited by five families, and all those who were there were saved, thanks to Moayad Awad, an unemployed civil engineer, and the whistleblower of the story.

The young man, a resident of the crowded neighbourhood overlooking downtown, was passing by when a boy, a relative of his, came running to him, telling him of “falling sand” in the basement floor of the building.

“I went to see what he was talking about to discover that there was a crack in a pillar, and as a civil engineer, I knew there was immediate danger, so the first thing I did was call the Civil Defence [Department (CDD)] and then I hurried upstairs and asked residents to leave immediately.”

He was even pushing furniture in the apartments above to opposite side “to ease the weight on the pillar downstairs”. 

Hajj confirmed the story. He had no reason to question what the engineer was saying, “because the building started trembling. I felt it and I went down and saw the cracking pillar”.

In no time, everyone was knocking on doors until all were out.

The owner of the building, Haitham Ramadan, was also there.

Living in an adjacent building, he saw the cracks in the façade of the property and decided, with neighbours, to evacuate.

The time between the emergency call to the CDD and the collapse was one hour, Awad told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

He shared the information and his expertise with the CDD and other officials who arrived at the scene. 

Awad warned that the adjacent buildings were not safe, and they were evacuated. The next morning, they were in ruins.

Top officials who met Saturday blamed “unlicensed” additions to the buildings for the crack, and “soak pits”. 

Awad and Hajj said there is already a sewage system in the neighbourhood, which has seen frequent blocks for decades, and each time, the municipality would solve the problem temporarily, and each time, there were leaks running under the buildings. 

The engineer, from a professional point of view, blamed the faulty sewage system and poor services.

The residents stressed that their buildings were licensed and in compliance with regulations. 

The whistleblower was celebrated on social media sites and on one or two news websites. 

“I was not looking for praise. I am just happy that no one was hurt,” the Egypt graduate engineer said.