Non-sustained massive fire forces residents out of Haram building

CAIRO – 1 February 2021: Apartments of a 13-storey building in Haram district, Giza, were evacuated with residents have no idea whether they will be able to get in back again. The reason is a huge fire that has been on for 72 hours, and has not put off yet.

A fire broke out in a three-story shoes’ storehouse imported from China due to highly flammable materials. The storehouse belongs to the owner of the building, and consists of a basement and two floors on an area of 1,000 meters.

The building has 108 housing units, 15 of which are inhabited. All residents were evacuated  

The walls of the huge building were cracked by the massive fire, which the Civil Protection Forces were unable to control. The security forces set a cordon surrounding the building at a distance of 2 km to prevent citizens from approaching until the fire is extinguished.

A dense black smoke of fire is visible in the sky at a distance of kilometers.

The General Traffic Department had announced traffic diversions on the Ring Road to protect cars, leading to traffic congestion still witnessed on the highway.

The Public Prosecution ordered forming an engineering committee to examine the damages that took place at the building. The committee has ordered to stop all firefighting operations to avoid the explosion of the building concrete columns as a result of fire colliding with water pumps, which could lead to a disaster. The current plan is to wait until the fire reduces.

The committee further recommended to remove the building in case it did not collapse, because the building is illegal.

According to the law, when illegal buildings were damaged by fire or cracks, they are not entitled of compensations. However, legal experts suggest that residents of illegal buildings can file lawsuits against the owner of the building, asking for compensation and to provide them with alternative housing units that are not illegal.