Wikipedia / List of fires in high-rise buildings
Wikipedia / List of fires in high-rise buildings
The following is a list of fires in high-rise buildings. A skyscraper fire or high-rise fire is a class of structural fire specific to tall buildings. Skyscraper fires are technically challenging for fire departments: they require unusually high degrees of organization and cooperation between participating firefighting units to contain and extinguish. Skyscraper fires are often multiple-alarm fires.
Notable fires
Building | Height (m) | City | Country | Date | Death(s) | Notes |
91 m | ? | Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake | ||||
69 m | ||||||
95 m | ||||||
Mutual Bank Building | ||||||
48 m | 1911-03-25 March 25, 1911 | 146 | ||||
171 m | 0 | Occurred during construction | ||||
381 m | 14 | |||||
283 m | 5 | |||||
Chicago | 61 | Likely an electrical fire | ||||
59 m | 119 | Deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history | ||||
64 m | 4 | Gas explosion caused partial collapse of the highrise. | ||||
192 m | New York City | 2 | Sparked from a faulty computer connection | |||
Taeyongak Hotel | 72.6 m | Seoul | 163 | Daeyeonggak Hotel fire, deadliest hotel fire in history | ||
115 m | 16 | Sparked from an electrical overload | ||||
Rault Tower | 6 | Suspected arson | ||||
161 m | 4 | Sparked on the 14th floor | ||||
142 m | 0 | Occurred during construction | ||||
82.5 m | São Paulo | 184 | 179–189, Joelma fire | |||
417 m | New York City | 0 | ||||
Campbell Shopping Complex | 66 m | 1 | ||||
Bank Bumiputra | ? | |||||
85.8 m | 84 | |||||
114 m | 8 | Arson | ||||
Torre Santa María | 11 | Occurred when carpet glue ignited during carpet installation. | ||||
59.4 m | 1 | Plane crash-Suicide by F-4 Phantom during Iran-Iraq War | ||||
Northwestern National Bank | 52.8 m | 0 | ||||
248.7 m | 0 | Likely occurred due to welding sparks | ||||
276 m | 0 | A nine-alarm fire in the building spread because of the lack of a sprinkler system. | ||||
74 m | 97 | |||||
Schomburg Plaza | 7 | Ignited from the plaza's trash compactor room | ||||
85 m | 6 | Deadliest high-rise fire in Swiss history | ||||
261.52 m | 1 | |||||
Peachtree 25th Building | 33 m | Atlanta | 5 | |||
150 m | 3 | Occurred when rags ignited, fire spread uncontrollably after all fire protection systems failed. Later torn down. | ||||
105.5 m | * | Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells. | ||||
69.3 m | * | Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells. | ||||
Groeneveen and Kruitberg | 33 m | 43 | El Al Flight 1862 plane crash, Partial collapse | |||
417 m | New York City | 6 | Bombing which also resulted in 1,042 smoke related injuries | |||
350.2 m | Las Vegas | 0 | Occurred during construction | |||
119 m | Moscow | 147 | Caught fire from tank shelling during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis | |||
73 m | 8 | Occurred on the 11th floor within a janitor's closet | ||||
183 m | 0 | Occurred during refurbishment | ||||
Garley Building | 52.8 m | 41 | ||||
115 m | 0 | Struck by NATO air strikes during the Kosovo War setting the upper floors on fire. | ||||
181 m | 2 | Arson | ||||
540.1 m | 3 | Tallest structure in Europe | ||||
1 and 2 World Trade Center | 417 m / 415.1 m | New York City | Part of the September 11 attacks. One hijacked airliner was deliberately flown into each of the skyscrapers. Both towers experienced a total structural failure within two hours of the plane impacts. Tallest buildings to ever be destroyed. | |||
190 m | 0 | Caused by debris from the collapse of Building 1 (North Tower) of the World Trade Center, resulting in this building also collapsing. | ||||
98.76 m | 2 | Caused by debris from the collapse of Building 2 (South Tower) of the World Trade Center | ||||
50 m | 0 | Caused by debris from the collapse of Building 2 (South Tower) of the World Trade Center | ||||
23 m | 125 | Part of the September 11 attacks. Caused damaged at the southwestern side from one hijacked airliner Flight 77 of the impact and partial collapse. | ||||
127 m | 3 | |||||
6 | Seven other seriously injured, fire thought to have been arson | |||||
59.4 m | 1 | Twenty-eight 68mm and 85mm Katyusha rockets were fired at and struck the hotel | ||||
Parque Central Complex east tower | 255 m | 0 | Damage to 34th-44th floors | |||
163.1 m | 0 | 25 injured | ||||
Harrow Court | 56.1 m | 3 | ||||
106 m | 0 | Partially collapsed; subsequently demolished | ||||
Tohid Town Residential | 33 m | 106 | Plane crash: 2005 Iranian Air Force C-130 crash | |||
Transport Tower | 112.2 m | 0 | Fire destroyed upper floors of 34-story government building | |||
156 m | New York City | 2 | ||||
Fortune Tower | 4 | Occurred during construction, 57 injured | ||||
494.3 m | 0 | Occurred on 40th floor during construction | ||||
157.6 m | New York City | 2 | Occurred during dismantling, demolished due to damage from the September 11 attacks | |||
125.4 m | 0 | Occurred during construction. | ||||
110 m | Las Vegas | 0 | Fire affecting top six floors | |||
TU Delft Faculteitsgebouw Bouwkunde | 56 m | 0 | A broken water pipe on the 8th floor caused a short circuit in a coffee machine a floor below, resulting in a fire. The building was demolished afterwards. | |||
601 m | 0 | Occurred during construction; fire consumed nine floors | ||||
159 m | 1 | |||||
Bashundhara City Tower | 62.7 m | 4 | ||||
Abraj Al Bait Towers | 0 | Occurred during construction | ||||
Lakanal House | 46.2 m | 6 | ||||
105 m | 0 | Occurred on the 25th and 26th floor during the construction. The exact cause of the fire has never been identified. | ||||
Wooshin Golden Suites | 0 | |||||
Dijon residential complex | 79.2 m | 7 | ||||
Unnamed high-rise apartment block | 85 m | 58 | Occurred during renovation; 2010 Shanghai fire | |||
Dynasty Wanxin building complex Towers A and B (Tower C was unaffected) | 0 | Started from fireworks during Chinese New Year Celebrations. | ||||
EVN Headquarters Tower 1 | 147 m | 0 | Fire occurred during construction, 11 workers injured. | |||
Uncompleted high rise block | 0 | |||||
Fico Place | 0 | Two firemen injured | ||||
Federation Tower (East Tower) | 450 m | 0 | Occurred while the building was under construction | |||
Al Tayer Tower | 0 | |||||
Polat Tower Residence | 140 m | 0 | ||||
160 m | 0 | |||||
354.1 m | 0 | Fire occurred on 24th floor during construction, one worker was injured. | ||||
Torre Ejecutiva Pemex Tower | 214 m | 33 | Gas explosion affecting the main building's 14-story annex Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion | |||
150 m | 0 | |||||
0 | ||||||
The Strand | 1 | |||||
306 m | 0 | Fire broke out in the loading dock, then spread to the courtyard and a neighboring property. | ||||
Mermoz Tower | 52.8 m | 0 | ||||
Lotus Park building | 1 | |||||
Lacrosse Apartments | 0 | Fire started on an 8th floor balcony and rapidly spread up the facade cladding. | ||||
30 m | 5 | The fire occurred on one wing of the third floor causing extensive smoke damage. | ||||
336.8 m | 0 | At least 7 people were injured. | ||||
Wisma Kosgoro | 0 | Fire destroyed floors 16–20. | ||||
Franklin Tower, 100-101 Terr. Boieldieu, Tower A | 120 m | 0 | Unstated cause, ignition on 40th flr in technical room, contained by 30 firefighters via internal wet column (a pressurized vertical pipe). | |||
Unnamed Highrise | 16 | |||||
184 m | 0 | Fire occurred on the pool deck fueled by cabanas and artificial trees; two people were treated for smoke inhalation. | ||||
Unnamed Residential Tower | 0 | Fire burned building facade, 19 treated for smoke inhalation. | ||||
457 m | 0 | A two-alarm fire broke out on the 50th floor. Five injured. | ||||
306.2 m | 1 | Occurred on New Year's Eve, 14 injured. | ||||
104 m | 1 | 16th of 31 flrs, contained to apt without spreading, 1 killed, 31-year-old woman with muscle disability. | ||||
An unidentified tower on avenue Romain-Rolland | 33 m | France | 1 | |||
158 bd Davout | 21 m | France | 1 | 3rd through 7th of 7 flrs, 8 injured. | ||
288 m | UAE | 0 | ||||
42 m | 21 | The 17-story building collapsed after a fire started on the ninth floor. Seventy injured. | ||||
79.2 m | 72 | The 24-storey tower block fire spread from the second floor to the top of the building. See Grenfell Tower fire | ||||
66 m | 0 | The residential 20-storey tower – four injured | ||||
118.8 m | 3 | Blaze started on the 26th floor of the 36-story apartments. Fire quickly spread to three more floors, making it a 5-alarm fire. This is the deadliest high-rise fire in Hawaii's history. | ||||
66 m | 0 | Under construction 20-storey hotel | ||||
336.8 m | 0 | |||||
202 m | 1 | 6 firefighters injured | ||||
360 m | 0 | |||||
108.9 m | 0 | Involved two separate fires the same day | ||||
79.2 m | 8 | 7–9, building collapsed shortly after blaze | ||||
69.3 m | 0 | 21-storey residential building | ||||
Bank of Lisbon building | 108 m | 3 | Building demolished/Imploded on November 24, 2019 | |||
FR Tower | 25 | |||||
229.3 m | 1 | 2019 New York City helicopter crash | ||||
Unnamed Highrise | 47.9 m | 8 | Natural gas explosion, 40 injuries | |||
Abbco Tower | 190 m | 1 | 25 injuries, likely started by a discarded cigarette or shisha coals | |||
Tower block at 1158 Nerudova street | 42.9 m | 11 | ||||
Ulsan Samhwan Art Nouveau apartment building | 108.9 m | 0 | 92 residents and 1 firefighter injured. | |||
Helsinki Tower, 50 rue du Disque | ~100 m | Paris | France | 1 | 18th of 33 flrs, apt possibly linked to Diogenes syndrome (hoarding), spread prevented via compartmentation, contained after 2 hrs, ~70 firefighters, 2 hoses, 1 killed (carbonized body), 4 injured (2 were firefighters with heatstroke). | |
Torre dei Moro | 60 m | 0 | Fire event similar to the Grenfell Tower disaster | |||
Cheng Chung Cheng Building | 46 | |||||
0 | 13 injured, over 300 trapped on roof | |||||
Twin Parks North West, Site 4 | 17 | |||||
218 m | 0 | (fire extinguished. Under investigation.) | ||||
110 m | 0 | |||||
Elite Concept | 80 m | 0 | Originated from external cladding. | |||
RiverCourt | 108.1 m | 0 | ||||
8 Boulevard Walk | 123 m | 0 | ||||
Jixiangyuan community | 11 | |||||
The Kimpton | 175 m | 0 | Occurred during construction | |||
Unnamed Apartment Block | 56 | |||||
65.72 m | ? | Occurred during War in Sudan (2023) | ||||
Unnamed Highrise | 10 | |||||
Unnamed Highrise | 15 | |||||
Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall | 46 | |||||
0 | Occurred during construction | |||||
Botanik Torre Flora | 0 | Occurred during construction | ||||
Asia of Ivry (fr, ) | 21 m | Paris | 0 | Wholesaler Chinese Pastry, 50 Av. de la Prte d'Ivry, 7th flr (attic) | ||
36 m | Paris | 0 | Top flrs, possible electrical short in attic, 150 firefighters saved main structure, tower stabilized after collapse risk. | |||
Grand Kartal Hotel | 43.50 m | 79 | ||||
280 m | 0 | |||||
18 Jardin de Guillaume Bouzignac/18 Mail Gustave Flaubert | 60 m | 1 | ||||
Tuzla Retirement Home | 17 | |||||
Vjesnik Building | 0 | Fire started at the 15th floor by high school students. The building was vacant at the time of the fire, and will be demolished. | ||||
93-108.5 m | Deadliest apartment fire in history | |||||
11 Thorncliffe Park Drive | 0 | Stubborn 5-alarm fire burning inside walls and electrical conduit. All 408 units evacuated. | ||||
Era View Tower | 0 | Fire following an Iranian suicide drone attack | ||||
321 m | 0 | Fire following an Iranian suicide drone attack | ||||
PIFSS Headquarters | 0 | Fire following an Iranian suicide drone attack | ||||
Address Grand Creek Harbour Tower 2 | 266 m | 0 | Fire following an Iranian suicide drone attack | |||
6 East 43rd Street | New York City | March 17, 2026 | 0 | Fire started in an HVAC system on the roof. Building was in the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade's route. | ||
Total (minus deaths caused by September 11) | 2072 |
During the violent civil war the building was likely vacated before the shelling that started the fires.
Gallery
See also
The Towering Inferno (film)
References
External links
"Bank of Lisbon building, site of deadly Joburg fire, to come down", The Citizen, Eric Naki, August 29, 2019
"Madrid skyscraper faces collapse", BBC NEWS, February 13, 2005
"Blaze consumes Caracas skyscraper", BBC NEWS, October 18, 2004
"Welcome to High Rise Fire-fighting", highrisefirefighting.co.uk
"Bank of Lisbon Building Flattened in Johannesburg", YouTube, Voice of America, November 24, 2019