Galatasaray University fire ‘began at lift’

ISTANBUL

A fire burned down 142-year-old Galatasaray University building Jan 22. DHA photo

A fire that burned down a 142-year-old Galatasaray University building Jan. 22 was started by an elevator cables before spreading to an academic’s office, according to a report released by daily Milliyet on Feb. 24.

Istanbul Municipality’s department of fire brigade experts completed a two-page report on the fire that demolished a historical building used by Galatasaray University in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district. The cables in an elevator located on the rooftop floor caught fire due to overheating and spread to an academic’s office. The blaze was reported to the fire department 22 minutes after it was first realized. 

Academic Birol Caymaz told a university security guard at 7:15 p.m. that he smelled a cable burning. The security guard saw a small fire in an academic’s office and used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. The fire department received a call about the fire at 7:37 p.m. and a team from the Beşiktaş Fire Department arrived on the scene at 7:43 p.m., the report said. The firemen continued extinguishing works from outside the building after the elevator shaft collapsed.