Public Prosecution orders specialized committees to inspect Ramses exchange building after massive fire

CAIRO – 10 July 2025: The Public Prosecution said it has ordered the formation of specialized committees to inspect Ramses exchange and surrounding buildings after a massive fire broke out on Monday, killing four and disrupting mobile networks and banking services nationwide.

In a statement late on Wednesday, the prosecution said it has conducted its investigation procedures regarding the incident, including an interior inspection of the building.

The inspection covered the entire building, including all its annexes, and documented the damage caused by the fire, the prosecution said.

 

Specialized Committees Formed

The prosecution ordered the formation of a tripartite engineering committee to assess the condition of the buildings, ensuring measures are taken to protect lives and property.

The committee includes representatives from the Housing and Building National Research Center, the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, and Cairo governorate’s engineering administration.

Also, the prosecution tasked a five-member committee of professors from the Faculty of Engineering to inspect the infrastructure of servers, network systems, generators, batteries, and all systems and networks within the affected building and its annexes to determine compliance with applicable codes.

Another committee from the Ministry of Interior’s civil protection department will also work to determine the extent to which fire prevention requirements are met and the extent to which the buildings undergo periodic maintenance.

The prosecution tasked experts from the General Directorate of Forensic Evidences Investigation to collect and examine all traces of the fire. The committee’s task includes seizing the surveillance equipment and storage related to Ramses exchange.

Cause, Aftermath

The fire broke out at the Ramses Exchange around 5 PM on Monday and quickly spiraled out of control. Civil protection personnel battled the massive flames for several hours before the area became safe again.

The greatest tragedy of the fire was the death of four individuals and injuries to dozens more. The bodies of the four deceased engineers were recovered from the scene on the same day as the fire.

The blaze had a widespread impact, disrupting phone and internet services by all four operators in Egypt, as well as some banking operations and online transactions, at least partially.

The Egyptian stock exchange also suspended trading on the following day.

Internet watchdog group NetBlocks reported that national connectivity in Egypt dropped to 62% of ordinary levels.

However, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat on Wednesday conveyed a message of reassurance on the restoration of communication and banking services for most citizens nationwide with work underway to ensure return to normal quality.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday has instructed the formation of a specialized committee to investigate the causes of the fire.

Preliminary examinations indicated that the fire was likely caused by an electrical short circuit, a security source told the Egyptian state news agency MENA. Forensic experts will collect evidence from the fire scene to determine its causes.