Maggie Michael reports:
A fire that gutted the upper house of parliament this week has fueled Egyptians’ scorn for their authoritarian government, with critics saying it is unable to protect its own buildings and maintain basic infrastructure.
Firefighters appeared ineffectual Tuesday as they battled the blaze raging through the top floors of the 19th-century palace that houses the Shura Council. Dozens of fire trucks rushed to the scene, but at least in the early hours, only a few sprayed water on it. Firefighters mainly stayed outside, while the flames spread and ravaged the interior.
Army helicopters dropped buckets of water from the nearby Nile River, but were seen to often miss the building. They did get enough water on it to collapse part of the roof, with little effect on the fire. It took 18 hours to extinguish the blaze.
One firefighter was killed and a dozen were injured.
Interior Minister Habib el-Adly ruled out arson or terrorism. Initial reports said the blaze was sparked by a short-circuit in an air conditioning unit. The fire recalled a string of past accidents that were thought to have been caused or exacerbated by negligence.
In 2006, a ferry crossing the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia sank, killing more than 1,000 Egyptians. A parliamentary investigation found the ferry had been allowed to operate while failing to meet minimum safety requirements and both the company and government were criticized for failing to respond quickly to the sinking.
The acquittal of the ferry’s owner on negligence charges last month raised an outcry that authorities were protecting the wealthy businessman.
In 2002, a fire destroyed a train in southern Egypt, killing 370 people, mostly poor passengers in third-class cars, and there have been several deadly train collisions since.
“It’s the same confusion, the same accusations (of negligence) and the same denial,” columnist Magdy el-Galad wrote Thursday in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, comparing the parliament blaze to the earlier disasters.
Ibrahim Eissa, editor of opposition Al-Dustour daily, criticized the “deterioration of our system, which has become incapable of protecting even its buildings from fire and disasters.” The opposition Al-Wafd daily called for those responsible for the fire to be put on trial.