A large fire has erupted in a high-rise residential building in Milan, engulfing the whole structure within minutes. The blaze has completely destroyed the facade of the building, footage from the scene shows.
The blaze broke out at the 20-story Torre dei Moro high-rise located in the south of the city on Sunday. The fire started on the top floors of the building, which has 16 stories of furnished apartments with lower floors reserved for business. It’s unclear what caused the fire.
Incendio grattacielo Milano Live #Fire#Milan#Italypic.twitter.com/QcdjA0gpaB
The fire quickly spread across the building’s facade, covered with supposedly fireproof panels. The inferno sent burning pieces of the facade raining into the street and onto adjacent buildings. The blaze, however, has seemingly not spread into the building’s internals, so far affecting it only superficially.
Incendio grattacielo Milano Live #Fire#Milan#Italypic.twitter.com/FF0VN8xzC8
EDIFICIO DE 15 PISOS EN ? Incendio en #Milan esta tarde, con una gran columna de humo que se elevó hacia el cielo. El incendio estalló en un apartamento en Via Giacomo Antonini alrededor de las 17.30 horas. #Milano#Fire#ITA ? @MiTomorrowpic.twitter.com/VrqoMvZrhd
While the now-destroyed panels have been touted as fireproof by the building’s operator, the blaze showed it certainly was not the case.
“We have been told that the panels that covered the building were fireproof, instead they burned as quickly as if they were butter,” a local resident told Ansa news agency.
The blaze triggered a massive emergency services response, with multiple fire engines and crews rushing to the scene.
The fire has been brought “under control,” Italy’s Fire Rescue said, adding that firefighting crews are advancing toward the top floors of the building. Helicopter footage of the blaze shows multiple fire engines dousing the smoking building, while open flames are seen at two uppermost floors.
#Milano#incendio grattacielo: fiamme sotto controllo, le nostre squadre stanno avanzando dall’interno verso i piani superiori dell’edificio. Sono 15 i mezzi impiegati, oltre 50 i #vigilidelfuoco. Immagini della ricognizione aerea dall’elicottero. [#29agosto 20:00] pic.twitter.com/dKtm1eznUi
Falling debris caused widespread destruction in the building’s parking lot. About 20 cars were torched by the burning panels, leaving some as burnt-out husks.
? #Milano, proseguono le complesse verifiche dei #vigilidelfuoco all’interno del grattacielo #TorredeiMoro. Coinvolte nell’#incendio anche una ventina di autovetture parcheggiate nell’area sottostante [#29agosto 20:45] pic.twitter.com/VLQBrMQtrJ
Several people have been affected by the smoke, yet no fatalities have been reported. Later, the fire rescue service said that all the residents of the building had been reached by phone, with no missing persons reported.
?#Milano#incendio#TorredeiMoro, raggiunti telefonicamente i residenti nell’edificio: non sono stati segnalati dispersi. Proseguono da procedura le verifiche dei #vigilidelfuoco che stanno procedendo all’estinzione dei focolai ancora attivi nei piani alti [#29agosto 22:00] pic.twitter.com/rMP0pXI6eZ
The high-rise itself, however, continued to burn with open flames visible on multiple stories of the building, drone footage of the blaze shows.
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