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

More information Building, Height (m) ...
Building Height (m) City Country Date Death(s) Notes
Central Tower 91 m[1] San Francisco  United States 1906-04-18 April 18, 1906 ? Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Merchants Exchange Building 69 m[2]
Old Chronicle Building 95 m[3]
Mutual Bank Building
Asch Building 48 m[4] New York City 1911-03-25 March 25, 1911 146 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Sherry-Netherland 171 m[5] New York City 1927-04-12 April 12, 1927 0 Occurred during construction
Empire State Building 381 m[6] New York City 1945-07-28 July 28, 1945 14 Plane crash
40 Wall Street 283 m[7] New York City 1946-05-20 May 20, 1946 5 Plane crash
La Salle Hotel Chicago 1946-06-05 June 5, 1946 61 Electrical fire likely
Winecoff Hotel 59 m[8] Atlanta 1946-12-07 December 7, 1946 119 Deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history
Ronan Point 64 m[9] London  United Kingdom 1968-05-16 May 16, 1968 4 Gas explosion caused partial collapse of the highrise.
1 New York Plaza 192 m[10] New York City  United States 1970-08-05 August 5, 1970 2 Sparked from a faulty computer connection[11]
Taeyongak Hotel 72.6 m Seoul  South Korea 1971-12-25 December 25, 1971 163 Daeyeonggak Hotel fire, deadliest hotel fire in history
Andraus Building 115 m[12] São Paulo  Brazil 1972-02-24 February 24, 1972 16 Sparked from an electrical overload[13]
Rault Tower New Orleans  United States 1972-11-29 November 29, 1972 6 Suspected arson[14]
Avianca Building 161 m Bogotá  Colombia 1974-07-23 July 23, 1973 4 Sparked on the 14th floor
City-Haus 142 m Frankfurt  West Germany 1974-02-01 August 23, 1973 0 Occurred during construction
Joelma Building 82.5 m São Paulo  Brazil 1974-02-01 February 1, 1974 179–189 Joelma fire
One World Trade Center 417 m New York City  United States 1975-02-13 February 13, 1975 0 Arson[15]
Campbell Shopping Complex 66 m Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia 1976-04-08 April 8, 1976 1 Campbell Shopping Complex fire
Bank Bumiputra Kuala Lumpur 1980-11-80 November 4, 1980
MGM Grand Hotel 85.8 m Las Vegas  United States 1980-11-21 November 21, 1980 84 MGM Grand fire
Las Vegas Hilton 114 m Las Vegas 1981-2-10 February 10, 1981 8 Arson
Torre Santa María Santiago  Chile 1981-3-21 March 21, 1981 11 Occurred when carpet glue ignited during carpet installation.[16]
Al Rasheed Hotel 59.4 m Baghdad  Iraq 1982-7-21 July 21, 1982 1 Plane crash-Suicide by F-4 Phantom during Iran-Iraq War
Northwestern National Bank 52.8 m Minneapolis  United States 1980-11-21 November 25–26, 1982 0 Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire
KOMTAR 248.7 m Penang  Malaysia 1983-1-23 January 23, 1983 0 Likely occurred due to welding sparks[17]
Prudential Tower 276 m Boston  United States 1983-1-23 January 2, 1986 0 A nine-alarm fire in the building spread because of the lack of a sprinkler system.[18][19]
Dupont Plaza Hotel Condado, Puerto Rico  United States 1986-12-31 December 31, 1986 97 Dupont Plaza Hotel arson
Schomburg Plaza New York City  United States 1987-03-22 March 22, 1987 7 Ignited from the plaza's trash compactor room[20]
Hotel International 85 m Zurich   Switzerland 1988-02-14 February 14, 1988 6 Deadliest high-rise fire in Swiss history
First Interstate Tower 261.52 m Los Angeles  United States 1988-05-04 May 4, 1988 1 First Interstate Tower fire
Peachtree 25th Building 33 m Atlanta 1989-06-30 June 30, 1989 1 Suspected to spark from a faulty electric panel[21]
One Meridian Plaza 150 m Philadelphia 1991-02-23 February 23–24, 1991 3 Occurred when rags ignited, fire spread uncontrollably after all fire protection systems failed.[22] Later torn down.
UNITIC Twin Towers 105.5 m Sarajevo  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-05-28 May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Executive Council Building 69.3 m Sarajevo 1992-05-28 May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Groeneveen and Kruitberg 33 m Amsterdam  Netherlands 1992-10-04 October 4, 1992 43 El Al Flight 1862 plane crash, Partial collapse
One World Trade Center 417 m New York City  United States 1993-02-26 February 26, 1993 6 Bombing which also resulted in 1,042 smoke related injuries
Stratosphere Tower 350.2 m Las Vegas 1993-08-30 August 30, 1993 0 Occurred during construction
White House (Moscow) Moscow  Russia 1993-10-08 October 8, 1993 187 Caught fire from tank shelling during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
Hotel Olympik 73 m Prague  Czech Republic 1995-05-26 May 25, 1995 8 Occurred on the 11th floor within a janitor's closet[23]
Tower 42 183 m London  United Kingdom 1996-1-17 January 17, 1996 0 Occurred during refurbishment
Garley building 52.8 m Hong Kong  Hong Kong 1996-11-20 November 20, 1996 41 1996 Garley Building fire
Ušće Tower 115 m Belgrade  Serbia and Montenegro 1999-04-21 April 21, 1999 0 Struck by NATO air strikes during the Kosovo War setting the upper floors on fire.
Immigration Tower 181 m Hong Kong  Hong Kong 2000-08-02 August 2, 2000 2 Arson
Ostankino Tower 540.1 m Moscow  Russia 2000-08-27 August 27, 2000 3 Tallest structure in Europe
1 and 2 World Trade Center 417 m / 415.1 m New York City  United States 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 2,312 Plane crashes in the September 11 attacks, causing explosion, structural damage, and fires resulting in collapse.
7 World Trade Center 190 m New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 0 Full structural collapse caused by debris from the collapse of Building 1 (North tower) of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.
90 West Street 98.76 m New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 2 Caused by debris from the collapse of Building 2 (South Tower) of the World Trade Center: September 11 attacks
130 Cedar Street 50 m New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 0 Caused by debris from the collapse of Building 2 (South Tower) of the World Trade Center: September 11 attacks
Pirelli Tower 127 m Milan  Italy 2002-04-18 April 18, 2002 3 Plane crash
Cook County Administration Building Chicago  United States 2003-10-17 October 17, 2003 6 Seven other seriously injured, fire thought to have been arson[24][25]
Al Rasheed Hotel 59.4 m Baghdad  Iraq 2003-12-26 December 26, 2003 1 Twenty-eight 68 mm and 85 mm Katyusha rockets were fired at and struck the hotel
Parque Central Complex east tower 255 m Caracas  Venezuela 2004-10-17 October 17, 2004 0 Damage to 34th-44th floors
LaSalle National Bank Building 163.1 m Chicago  United States 2004-12-07 December 7, 2004 0 25 injured[26]
Harrow Court 56.1 m Hertfordshire  United Kingdom 2005-02-02 February 2, 2005 3 Harrow Court fire
Windsor Tower 106 m Madrid  Spain 2005-02-12 February 12, 2005 0 Partially collapsed; subsequently demolished
Tohid Town Residential 33 m Tehran  Iran 2005-12-06 December 6, 2005 106 Plane crash: 2005 Iranian Air Force C-130 crash
Transport Tower 112.2 m Astana  Kazakhstan 2006-05-30 May 30, 2006 0 Fire destroyed upper floors of 34-story government building
Belaire Apartments 156 m New York City  United States 2006-10-11 October 11, 2006 2 Plane crash
Fortune Tower Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2007-01-18 January 18, 2007 4 Occurred during construction, 57 injured
Shanghai World Financial Center 494.3 m Shanghai  China 2007-08-14 August 14, 2007 0 Occurred on 40th floor during construction
Deutsche Bank Building 157.6 m New York City  United States 2007-08-18 August 18, 2007 2 Occurred during dismantling, demolished due to damage from the September 11 attacks
The Water Club 125.4 m Atlantic City 2007-09-23 September 23, 2007 0 Occurred during construction.[27]
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino 110 m Las Vegas 2008-01-25 January 25, 2008 0 Fire affecting top six floors
TU Delft Faculteitsgebouw Bouwkunde 56 m Delft  The Netherlands 2008-04-13 April 13, 2008 0 A broken water pipe on the 8th floor caused a short circuit in a coffee machine a floor below, resulting in a fire. [28] The building was demolished afterwards.
Abraj Al Bait Towers 601 m Mecca  Saudi Arabia 2008-10-28 October 28, 2008 0 Occurred during construction; fire consumed nine floors
Beijing Television Cultural Center 159 m Beijing  China 2009-02-09 February 9, 2009 1 Beijing Television Cultural Center fire
Bashundhara City Tower 62.7 m Dhaka  Bangladesh 2009-03-13 March 13, 2009 4
Abraj Al Bait Towers Mecca  Saudi Arabia 2009-05-01 May 1, 2009 0 Occurred during construction
Rabobank Bestuurscentrum 105 m Utrecht  Netherlands 2010-06-27 June 27, 2010 0 Occurred on the 25th and 26th floor during the construction. The exact cause of the fire has never been identified. [29]
Lakanal House 46.2 m London  United Kingdom 2009-07-03 July 3, 2009 6 Lakanal House fire
Wooshin Golden Suites Busan  South Korea 2010-09-01 September 1, 2010 0 Wooshin Golden Suites fire
Unnamed high-rise apartment block 85 m Shanghai  China 2010-11-15 November 15, 2010 58 Occurred during renovation; 2010 Shanghai fire
Dynasty Wanxin building complex Towers A and B (Tower C was unaffected) Shenyang 2011-02-03 February 3, 2011 0 Started from fireworks during Chinese New Year Celebrations.[30]
EVN Headquarters Tower 1 147 m Hanoi  Vietnam 2011-12-16 December 15, 2011 0 Fire occurred during construction, 11 workers injured.[31]
Uncompleted high rise block Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia 2012-01-18 January 18, 2012 0 [32]
Fico Place Bangkok  Thailand 2012-03-03 March 3, 2012 0 Two firemen injured[33]
Federation Tower (East Tower) 450 m Moscow  Russia 2012-04-2 April 2, 2012 0 Occurred while the building was under construction
Al Tayer Tower Sharjah  United Arab Emirates 2012-04-28 April 28, 2012 0 [34]
Polat Tower Residence 138.6 m Istanbul  Turkey 2012-07-17 July 17, 2012 0 [35]
Tamweel Tower 160 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2012-11-18 November 18, 2012 0 [36]
Oko Tower 1 354.1 m Moscow  Russia 2013-01-25 January 25, 2013 0 Fire occurred on 24th floor during construction, one worker was injured.[37]
Torre Ejecutiva Pemex Tower 214 m Mexico City  Mexico 2013-01-31 January 31, 2013 33 Gas explosion affecting the main building's 14 story annex Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion
Grozny-City Towers 150 m Grozny  Russia 2013-04-03 April 3, 2013 0 [citation needed]
Jianye Mansion Guangzhou  China 2013-04-03 December 15, 2013 0 [38]
The Strand New York City  United States 2014-01-05 January 5, 2014 1 [39]
One57 410 m New York City  United States 2015-03-14 March 15, 2014 0 Fire broke out in the loading dock, then spread to the courtyard and a neighboring property.
Lotus Park building Mumbai  India 2014-07-18 July 18, 2014 1 [40]
Lacrosse Apartments Melbourne  Australia 2014-11-25 November 25, 2014 0 Fire started on an 8th floor balcony and rapidly spread up the facade cladding.[41]
The Wedgwood 30 m Castle Hills  United States 2014-12-28 December 28, 2014 5 The fire occurred on one wing of the third floor causing extensive smoke damage.[42][43]
The Marina Torch 336.8 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2015-02-21 February 21, 2015 0 At least 7 people were injured.
Wisma Kosgoro Jakarta  Indonesia 2015-03-10 March 10, 2015 0 Fire destroyed floors 16–20.[44]
Unnamed Highrise Baku  Azerbaijan 2015-05-19 May 19, 2015 16 See 2015 Baku residence building fire
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas 184 m Las Vegas  United States 2015-07-25 July 25, 2015 0 Fire occurred on the pool deck fueled by cabanas and artificial trees; two people were treated for smoke inhalation.[45]
Unnamed Residential Tower Sharjah  United Arab Emirates 2015-10-01 October 1, 2015 0 Fire burned building facade, 19 treated for smoke inhalation.[46]
John Hancock Center 457 m Chicago  United States 2015-11-21 November 21, 2015 0 A two-alarm fire broke out on the 50th floor. Five injured.[47]
The Address Downtown Dubai 306.2 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2015-12-31 December 31, 2015 1 Occurred on New Year's Eve, 14 injured.[48]
Sulafa Tower 288 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2016-07-20 July 20, 2016 0
Plasco Building 42 m Tehran  Iran 2017-01-19 January 19, 2017 21 The 17-story building collapsed after a fire started on the ninth floor. Seventy injured.[49]
Grenfell Tower 79.2 m London  United Kingdom 2017-06-14 June 14, 2017 72 The 24-storey tower block fire spread from the second floor to the top of the building.[50] See Grenfell Tower fire
Pamchal Chitgar Building 66 m Tehran  Iran 2017-06-14 June 14, 2017 0 The residential 20-storey tower - four injured
Marco Polo Apartments 118.8 m Honolulu  United States 2017-07-14 July 14, 2017 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.
Rotana Hotel Building 66 m Mashhad  Iran 2017-07-22 July 22, 2017 0 Under construction 20-storey hotel
The Marina Torch 336.8 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2017-08-04 August 4, 2017 0
Trump Tower 202 m New York City  United States 2018-04-30 April 7, 2018 1 6 firefighters injured
Almas Tower 360 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates 2018-04-30 April 22, 2018 0
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Baku) 108.9 m Baku  Azerbaijan 2018-04-30 April 28, 2018 0 Involved two separate fires the same day
Wilton Paes de Almeida Building 79.2 m São Paulo  Brazil 2018-04-30 April 30, 2018 7–9 Building collapsed shortly after blaze
Paramis Building 69.3 m Tehran  Iran 2018-07-22 July 22, 2018 0 21-storey residential building
Bank of Lisbon building 108 m Johannesburg  South Africa 2018-09-06 September 6, 2018 3 Building demolished/Imploded in 24 Nov 2019
FR Tower Dhaka  Bangladesh 2019-03-28 March 28, 2019 25 FR Tower fire
AXA Equitable Center 229.3 m New York City  United States 2019-06-10 June 10, 2019 1 2019 New York City helicopter crash
Unnamed Highrise 47.9 m Prešov  Slovakia 2019-12-06 December 6, 2019 8 Natural gas explosion, 40 injuries[51]
Abbco Tower United Arab Emirates  United Arab Emirates 2020-05-05 May 5, 2020 1 25 injuries, likely started by a discarded cigarette or shisha coals[52]
Tower block at 1158 Nerudova street 42.9 m Czech Republic  Czech Republic 2020-08-08 August 9, 2020 11 Bohumín arson attack
Ulsan Samhwan Art Nouveau apartment building 108.9 m South Korea  South Korea 2020-10-09 October 8, 2020 0 92 residents and 1 firefighter injured. Ulsan Samhwan Art Nouveau Fire [ko][53]
Torre dei Moro 60 m Milan  Italy 2021-08-29 August 29, 2021 0 Fire event similar to the Grenfell Tower disaster[54]
Cheng Chung Cheng Building Kaohsiung  Taiwan 2021-10-14 October 14, 2021 46 2021 Kaohsiung tower fire
World Trade Centre Hong Kong Hong Kong  Hong Kong 2021-12-15 December 15, 2021 0 13 injured, over 300 trapped on roof[55]
Twin Parks North West, Site 4 New York City  United States 2022-01-09 January 9, 2022 17 2022 Bronx apartment fire
Lotus Garden China Telecom Building 218 m Changsha, Hunan  China September 16, 2022 0 (fire extinguished. Under investigation.)
The Centaurus 110 m Islamabad  Pakistan October 9, 2022 0 2022 The Centaurus Mall Fire Incident[56]
RiverCourt 108.1 m New York City  United States November 5, 2022 0
8 Boulevard Walk 123 m Dubai  United Arab Emirates November 7, 2022 0
Jixiangyuan community ~60 m (21 floors) Ürümqi  China November 26, 2022 11 2022 Ürümqi fire
The Kimpton 175 m Hong Kong  Hong Kong March 2, 2023 0 Occurred during construction
Unnamed Apartment Block Hanoi  Vietnam September 12, 2023 56 2023 Hanoi building fire
Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower 65.72 m Khartoum  Sudan September 17, 2023 Unknown Occurred during War in Sudan (2023)
Unnamed Highrise València  Spain February 22, 2024 10 2024 València residential complex fire
Unnamed Highrise Nanjing  China February 23, 2024 15 2024 Nanjing building fire
Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall Dhaka  Bangladesh February 29, 2024 46 2024 Dhaka Bailey Road fire
Tver  Russia March 14, 2024 0 Occurred during construction
Botanik Torre Flora Recife  Brazil March 28, 2024 0 Occurred during construction
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See also

References

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