Poland: Fire in Warsaw Shopping Mall Engulfs 1400 Stores

A massive fire erupted on Saturday night at a shopping centre in Warsaw, causing extensive damage to the premises, authorities confirmed. Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the incident.

The shopping centre, Marywilska 44, boasted nearly 1,400 commercial units, including numerous kiosks, making it one of the largest shopping complexes in Warsaw. It was owned and managed by Mirbud.

According to Mariusz Feltynowski, commander-in-chief of the State Fire Service, “Almost 100% of it was burned.” He further stated that extinguishing the fire would require significant time and effort, with nearly 200 firefighters actively involved in the operation.

Police reported no injuries, but traders were in despair at the loss of their livelihoods. The Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that some Vietnamese vendors wanted to enter to save their goods from the complex, but were blocked by security guards.

The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Poland said the blaze meant “great financial losses for merchants,” calling it a “terrible tragedy for thousands of merchants and their families.”

The firefighting efforts are ongoing, with authorities anticipating that it may take several hours to fully extinguish the blaze.