Since the beginning of the month, nine fires have broken out in different governorates throughout Egypt, resulting in a total of five deaths, 41 injuries and some LE60 million worth of material damages.
The only fire to result in human casualties broke out in a residential area of Old Cairo, killing five members of the same family and inuring one.
The fire that caused the greatest material losses, meanwhile, erupted at the Alexandria Petroleum Company, resulting in losses estimated at LE30 million. That conflagration took 27 fire trucks and 14 hours to extinguish.
In Aswan, 13 people, including three tourists, suffered smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a local hotel. In Daqahliya, meanwhile, 14 people, including three police recruits, also suffered smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a shop for motorcycle parts.
A small fire also reportedly broke out at Aswan's historic Winter Palace Hotel, but was successfully brought under control before it could spread to other wings of the hotel. No casualties were reported.
In Giza, a maintenance crew accidentally caused a fire at the Giza Phone Company that destroyed some company equipment. Faulty electrical wiring apparently caused a short circuit that led to the fire.
In Assiut, a gas cylinder exploded, injuring six people and destroying five shops.
And in Fayoum, a fire broke out at an ink factory, destroying the entire factory and causing losses estimated at LE2.5 million. Ten fire trucks from the Beni Sueif and 6 October governorates were used to extinguish the fire.
Also in Fayoum, a fire broke out on Tuesday morning in a factory that manufactures plastic mats. The blaze, which required 12 fire trucks to extinguish, resulted in material losses estimated at LE300,000.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
