Milan 18-storey apartment block goes up in flames as emergency services launch search amid fears of people trapped inside
- 15 fire engines were needed to extinguish the fire which took hold at 5:30pm
- The fire destroyed the Torre dei Moro building in the southern outskirts of Milan
- Tenants have been safely evacuated with no hospitalisations, but some firefighters sustained burns according to Milan’s mayor
- One resident said he had been assured that the building’s panels were fireproof
- Firefighters are continuing their search operation to ensure no one was trapped
A horrendous blaze has broken out at a 18-storey high rise apartment building in Milan, prompting fears that many people may be trapped inside.
15 fire engines and over 100 emergency service personnel were needed to extinguish the fire which broke out around 5:30pm local time at the Torre dei Moro building on via Giacomo Antonini in the southern outskirts of Milan, home to dozens of families.
Every tenant has reportedly been safely evacuated and accounted for, but firefighters are conducting a thorough search of the building to ensure no one has been trapped.
Twenty tenants were checked on the scene by emergency services for smoke inhalation, but no hospitalisations have been recorded thus far.
15 fire engines and over 100 emergency service personnel were needed to extinguish the fire which broke out around 5:30pm local time
The fire occurred at the Torre dei Moro building on via Giacomo Antonini in the southern outskirts of Milan – a residential building home to hundreds of families
The Torre dei Moro is a residential high rise measuring almost 200 feet high, which was built as part of a regeneration project in southern Milan.
Authorities reported the fire has destroyed many parts of the building almost entirely, and a perimeter has been set up by the Italian carabinieri and fire service to ensure a safe distance is kept from the building’s wreckage.
Nearby buildings have not been damaged, but the proximity of the building to a fuel distribution system and neighbouring houses has prompted further precautionary evacuations while firefighters complete their checks.
Milan’s mayor, Beppe Sala, arrived on the scene after the fire to inspect the damage and ensure the safety of the tenants and firefighters.
Sala said that there had been no reports of any victims in the fire so far, but added that some firefighters had sustained burns in their attempts to extinguish the flames.
‘They are carrying out commendable work, as always,’ he said.
Meanwhile, one of the building’s residents told Italian news website ANSA that residents were assured the panels covering the building were fire-resistant.
We were told that the panels that covered the building were fireproof, instead they burned quickly like butter,’ he said.
‘The technicians will do a check, but I remember perfectly well that they told us that the panels were fire resistant.’
Firefighters believe the fire started from the upper floors, collapsing the windows of the building’s facade and generating a column of smoke visible from miles away, but this has not yet been verified.
‘It is difficult to make assumptions about how the fire started – it probably originated on the upper floors and it is not yet clear whether it started from the inside or from the outside,’ said Sala.
‘What the firefighters are doing is breaking down one door after another starting from the lower floors, in very difficult working conditions and with oxygen cylinders, to see if anyone is left inside.’
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