WATANI International
22 March 2009
Last Saturday saw a huge fire erupt in one of the most majestic buildings of Khedivine Cairo. The building goes back to the 1920s and is situated in the heart of Downtown Cairo, at the corner of Ramses Street and 26 July Street. On the spot 35 ambulances and fire engines moved to the site of the accident. Despite the firemen’s unfailing efforts to quench the fire, it took no less than six hours for them to achieve their task. They did succeed, however, in preventing the fire from spreading to the neighbouring buildings and shops, especially that the area is jammed with commercial shops and restaurants as well as institutions such as the Journalists’ Syndicate, the Judges Club, and the Bar Association. Close by stands the famous building of the Supreme Court—one of Downtown Cairo’s most outstanding buildings built in the classical style, complete with a columned edifice and grand portico.
Six hours
Investigations revealed that the fire began on the third floor which was being used by a commercial company as a store for car tyres and plastic containers full of oil. It did not help that the building did not comply with safety specifications; it was neither furnished with fire extinguishers nor was water adequately accessible to the higher floors.
According to the prosecution, the fire erupted due to faulty wiring. The floor of the apartment was jammed with rubber ribbons and belts, which impeded the firemen from reaching the source of the fire.
Also the use of water rather than foam to put out the fire slowed the firemen’s efforts to overcome the fire. The water moreover flooded the nearby underground metro station, one of the vital stations in Downtown Cairo, which further exacerbated matters.
The fire left in its wake 15 injured, four of whom are firemen. Five apartments in the building were burnt out; the initial estimate of the losses incurred run to some EGP5 million.
Urban harmony
The 1918 building spreads across 1835 square metres. The seven-storey edifice is a combination of neo-baroque, art nouveau and neo-classic and includes expressive engravings and sculptures, including sphinx heads. The façade is unique in that the designs and details of the engravings are not repetitive; each is different than the other.
The building was among those being restored by the National Organisation for Urban Harmony (NOUH) for the restoration and preservation of Downtown Cairo’s architectural heritage, a project which started earlier this year. NOUH, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, is undertaking the restoration of Khedivine Cairo, starting with Ramses Street and extending from Abbassiya to Abdel Moneim Riad square in Tahrir.
Checking the damage
On his part Samir Gharib, who sits at the head of the NOUH, stressed the urgency of clearing chemical and inflammable materials from all heritage buildings. “It is unacceptable that such buildings,” he said, “should be used to store hazardous materials.” Mr Gharib said NOUH has asked governors to assign a committee in each governorate to take note of buildings which are registered as architectural heritage in order to evacuate them of inflammable materials and help preserve Egypt’s wealth of architectural heritage. He implored the authorities to make the committees’ job easy.
The building, which was constructed utilising huge bearing walls, was checked by a committee formed by NOUH and Cairo governorate to ensure its safety and the safety of its foundation, and to determine the damages incurred due to the fire and the fire-fighting effort. The fire affected neither the building nor its foundations; only the paint, wood and a few pieces of furniture suffered, as well as the contents of the tyre store. The committee was also asked to ensure the safety of the scaffolding currently erected on the façade for the purpose of the restoration work, in preparation for resumption of the work.