Fire Department: Tehran Has 18,000 'High-Risk' Buildings

The spokesperson for Tehran's Fire Department announced that there are 18,000 high-risk buildings in the metropolis, stating that these structures pose a warning for the city's future. Jalal Maleki also declared 75 buildings in Tehran to be in critical condition. According to Maleki, incidents such as the Plasco building fire, Gandhi Hospital, and Sinaatahr Medical Center have raised public concerns. Following the fire at Gandhi Hospital in Tehran on January 25, sensitivities regarding high-risk buildings have increased again. Maleki mentioned that out of 2,300 monitored medical centers, only 1,800 have fire department approval. Since the Plasco building fire in downtown Tehran on January 19, 2017, which claimed at least 22 lives, and the collapse of Metropol in Abadan on May 23, 2022, which resulted in 43 deaths, numerous warnings have been issued to ensure the safety of public buildings, especially in Tehran. In this context, 129 high-risk public and governmental buildings have been identified, including Bouali, Fajr, Shahid Yaftabad, Fayyazbakhsh, Ghiasi, Ziaiian, Tarafeh hospitals, as well as Shahid Beheshti University, Dr. Shariati Technical and Vocational University, and Imam Khomeini Memorial University. The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported on May 7, 2023, that due to age, concentration, and excessive density, regions 11 and 12 contain the most unsafe buildings and structures in Tehran, with 129 very high-risk buildings located in region 11 alone. Among the identified shopping centers are Aluminum Passage, Aladdin Passage, Mehestan Passage, Azad Passage, and Champs-Élysées Passage, which have been named as high-risk and critical buildings. These events and various lists of unsafe, high-risk, and very high-risk buildings in Tehran come at a time when Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, has denied the existence of such a list, stating that their only duty is identification. High-risk and unsafe buildings are divided into two categories: old and new. Old buildings require renovation or closure due to their age and the lack of many safety principles and tools at the time of construction. In new buildings, the only unsafe factor is the municipality's approach to issuing permits, supervision, and reducing the law to imposing fines for violations.