The fire in the Industrial Palace was caused by an electric cooker

Prague - The fire that destroyed the left wing of the Art Nouveau Industrial Palace at Prague Exhibition Grounds last October was reportedly caused by an electric cooker that was turned on. This was stated today by police spokesperson Eva Miklíková on the website of the Prague police. According to experts from the criminal investigation institute and the police, flammable materials ignited on the cooker, which was in the kitchenette of the exhibition booth. The booth was part of the Pragodent dental technology fair. The damage caused by the fire is estimated to be up to a billion crowns.
    After the fire broke out, it quickly spread to other booths and the wooden ceiling structure of the left wing of the palace, according to the police. "The fire was initially accompanied by several explosions caused by the explosion of 12 gas canisters - sprays. These were stored by the exhibitor for the needs of the exhibition," Miklíková wrote.
    After the fire, police stated that it could have been caused by a fault in the electrical installation. However, Incheba, the company that rents the exhibition grounds from the city, responded that only one electrical circuit for refrigerators was turned on at night. "Nothing else could have been turned on there," declared Incheba's head Alexander Rozin at the time.
    The police are further investigating the case and are expected to decide whether to charge someone due to the fire. According to Miklíková, the case is being investigated under the suspicion of committing a crime of public endangerment due to negligence. The investigation should conclude by the end of March, according to the spokesperson.
    In the past, the police indicated that the fire likely broke out shortly after the employees of the exhibiting company left. The ceiling of the booth where the fire started was reportedly close to the wooden understructure of the building. In addition, there was a glass display next to the booth, which shattered after the fire started, and the sudden influx of air contributed to the intensity of the burning, the police reported last year. An explosion of flammable sprays reportedly followed.
    Firefighters received the report of the fire on October 16 shortly after 7:00 PM, and 33 units of professional and volunteer firefighters gradually dealt with the fire. At the scene, there were nearly 280 professional and volunteer firefighters and 67 fire trucks. It was likely the worst fire in the capital since 1974 when a fire engulfed the nearby Trade Fair Palace. According to firefighters, the incident ranks among the largest fires in the history of the Czech Republic.
    Prague councillor Milan Richter (ODS) stated at the end of January that Prague would withdraw from the contract with Incheba if the city does not reach an agreement with the company on an amendment that would guarantee the reconstruction of the palace. In November, Prague drafted an amendment to the contract for renting the exhibition grounds, according to which the destroyed wing of the Industrial Palace should be rebuilt by the end of September 2010. Incheba was to restore it using money from the insurance policy. If the funds provided by the insurers for the reconstruction were insufficient, Incheba would have to cover the restoration costs from its own funds. Conversely, if the invested amount was lower than the insurance, the remaining money would have to be transferred to Prague by Incheba.
    The insurance company Uniqa already paid Incheba an advance for cleaning and remediation work in the fall. However, according to spokesperson Eva Svobodová, the insurance company will only pay the full amount of the policy based on an assessment that it has commissioned. That is expected to be finished in May. Uniqa has not yet received the findings from the police investigation, but if it is proven that a third party is to blame, according to Svobodová, the insurance company will seek part of the paid insurance from the perpetrator.
    The contract with Incheba is reportedly disadvantageous for the city, and Richter has claimed that it is almost non-terminable. In exchange for a favorable rent of ten million crowns per year, Incheba committed in the contract to invest a billion crowns into the area by 2015. Part of this investment was supposed to have been made in previous years, but this did not happen.