Beni Suef Theater Burns Down

Poor safety conditions blamed for Beni Suef fire
By Pakinam Amer

Seven people have been arrested in the investigation into the fire at the Beni Suef Culture Palace on 5 September that killed at least 40 people, including its director, Bahgat Gabr.
Officials and eyewitnesses have pieced together how the tragedy tookplace. On 5 September, a troupe of young actors from Al Fayoum was performing a play that they hoped would be part of the Experimental Theater Festival, due to be held in Cairo later this month. A crowd of actors, directors, journalists and critics was in attendance for the performance, which took place in a side hall inside the theater. A security official who refused to give his name said that the high casualties were in part caused by the presence of more than 150 people in a room that could "barely hold" 70 spectators."
When the fire started, only the spectators who were standing near the only open exit got out in time," the official said. "People were trampling each other to escape the room."
Officials say the fire was started when an actor kicked over one ofthe dozens of candles that adorned the theater that night. The candle set on fire the spray-painted paper that covered the walls to create the impression of a cave. The Ministry of Interior issued a statement denying that the incident involved arson, as some media reports had initially speculated, reporting that Islamist extremists had set the building on fire.
All the performing artists of Al Fayoum Theater Troupe perished, alongwith many members of the audience. The room reportedly had only one fire extinguisher. "We had to collect all 20 fire extinguishers from all over the center but no matter what we did we could not contain the
According to early reports, it took emergency ambulances and the fire department more than 20 minutes to get to the theater, although both the hospital and fire department are only a few streets away. According to a report in Al Akhbar of 8 September, it took firefighters more than two hours to contain the fire. Yet sources atthe Culture Palace said they had notified the fire department that candles would be used in one of the shows, and asked them to send reserve fire forces to the theater "just in case."
"The officials cannot realize the extent of the disaster," said Mohammed Rashad, an eyewitness and the relative of one of the deceased. "My cousin died and they gave his family LE15,000 compensation. Do they think that money will cure everything?"
Rashad insists the Ministry of Culture should bear "full responsibility" for this incident.
"Isn't there supposed to be an ambulance at the ready in front of the theater anyway?" he asked. "Where are all the security measures? I went to the morgue to identify my cousin. Some victims' bodies were pitch black and unrecognizable. Carelessness killed these people."

Copyright (c) 2005 Cairo Magazine