Prosecution receives order to demolish Giza building over license violations

CAIRO – 3 February 2021: The Giza building that caught a massive fire for more than 72 hours, will be demolished after authorities revealed that building is unlicensed. Prosecution received Wednesday the demolishing order.

The 13-storey building is proven to be established over an area that is outside the approved urban space. The reconciliation request submitted by the owner of the property was rejected.

The owner was arrested and detained for four days pending investigations into charges drawn against him over constructing a residential building outside the approved urban area. He is also facing accusations of not taking necessary precautions to prevent fire hazards, and protect residents from physical hazards.

A massive fire broke out in a shoes storehouse that occupies three floors of the building, which includes 108 apartments, 15 of which are inhabited. All residents were evacuated from the building due to the non-sustained fire.

During the investigations, the owner, who also owns the storehouse, said that the fire was caused by a short circuit, and that he previously requested to reconcile over the violations, but his request was rejected, adding that he filed a complaint, and he did not get any reply thus far.

The Administrative Prosecution called on all citizens to report any building violations without a permit or buildings on agricultural land, via the hotline "16117" or the WhatsApp number "01050601888".

What happened in Haram building?

Apartments of a 13-storey building in Haram district, in 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 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.