2019 Arcadia mall fire

On 23rd December 2019, a fire in the electrical room of the Arcadia shopping mall in Port Byron, Patagonia, caused by a transformer short-circuit caused a gas tank explosion in the mall's AHU room, which led to a larger fire that spread around the mall in 2 hours, eventually causing a chain reaction that led to the collapse of the mall. 26 people were found dead and 129 others were injured.

Timeline

 * 7:32 PM: Fire reported at the electrical room of the Arcadia shopping mall.
 * 7:54 PM: Fire spreads to AHU room, site of a minor propane leak.
 * 7:57 PM: Explosion sound heard from 2nd floor.
 * 8:03 PM: Start of fire at 2nd floor.
 * 8:10 PM: Atrium evacuated. Clark Müller concert and meet-and-greet session at atrium suspended.
 * 8:14 PM: Fire department called. By now, the fire had been exacerbated by textile stores occupying the 2nd floor of the left wing, which released hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and benzene into the air.
 * 8:20 PM: Fire trucks and police, as well as Parliament Speaker Joseph Koch, arrive at the scene.
 * 8:29 PM: PTP news vehicles and ambulances arrive at the scene, as does Prime Minister Jacob Dunham.
 * 8:43 PM: 2nd floor of entire mall evacuated. Parts of 2nd floor at left wing give way.
 * 8:45 PM: 2nd floor at left wing reportedly fully collapsed. Müller when interviewed by the media reported hearing sound of cracking followed by a loud thud, debris falling and a faint spraying sound.
 * 8:54 PM: Right wing and unaffected parts of left wing evacuated.
 * 9:12 PM: Remaining tenants safely rescued.
 * 9:33 PM: By now the entire mall had been engulfed in flames due to the electrical system spontaneously combusting.
 * 9:45 PM: All AHU and electrical rooms in mall give way due to the fire, resulting in a chain reaction which led to the collapse of the mall.

Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation started an investigation into the fire on 9th January 2020 and ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack, stating that an electrical fire and propane leak led to the explosion and subsequent fire that followed, due to the scale of the disaster.

Causes
Eventually, on 14th January 2020, the CBI and the Fire Safety Committee concluded that the fire had been caused by the following circumstances:
 * Mismanagement of utility rooms (AHU and Electrical rooms on the location of the explosion were built next to each other, separated only by a wooden wall)
 * Transformer installation violated the National Electricity Law (no periodic maintenance had been done for three months, no fire extinguishers installed, no isolation devices, haphazardly installed electrical cables)
 * Haphazard containment of gas leak (towels were only used in the attempt to contain the propane gas).

Lawsuit settlement
On 27th January 2020, the CBI conducted a raid on the offices of Hanuman Properties Pte Ltd, the company which owned the mall, and CEO Ronald Schmidt and his accomplices were all held responsible for the fire due to their "negligence, mismanagement of the property, and failure and/or refusal to comply with the National Electricity Law".

Schmidt and his three accomplices, Charlene Wood, Nina Ratigan and John Ritter were all tried at the Port Byron City Court on 10th February 2020 after receiving a lawsuit from the families of the 26 fatalities of the fire, as well as the other victims and their relatives. After a 16-day legal battle between Schmidt and his accomplices and the victims and fatalities' relatives, the latter won the case on 26th February.

Schmidt's trial
The second trial took place on 3rd March 2020. On that trial, Schmidt and his accomplices pleaded guilty to all 129 charges of negligence and graft as well as 26 additional charges of second-degree murder, and were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole, whilst the victims and the other fatalities of the fire were given 50,000 Euros in compensation.

The site of the mall has subsequently been demolished and replaced with a memorial dedicated to the 26 victims of the fire.