2019 Arcadia mall fire

On 23rd December 2019, a fire in the electrical room of the Arcadia shopping mall in Sudetia 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. Jozin Müller concert and meet-and-greet session at atrium suspended.
 * 8:14 PM: Fire department called.
 * 8:20 PM: Fire trucks and police arrive at the scene.
 * 8:29 PM: SDF news vehicles and ambulances arrive at the scene.
 * 8:43 PM: 2nd floor evacuated.
 * 8:45 PM: 2nd floor at left wing reportedly collapsed. Müller when interviewed by the media reported hearing sound of cracking followed by a loud thud and sound of dust.
 * 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.
 * 9:45 PM: All AHU and electrical rooms in mall explode due to the fire, resulting in a chain reaction, leading to the collapse of the mall.

Investigation
The Royal Investigation Bureau 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 RIB 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, no fire extinguishers, no isolation device, haphazardly installed electrical cables)
 * Haphazard containment of gas leak (towels were only used in the attempt to contain the propane gas).

Investigation and trial
On 27th January 2020, the RIB conducted a raid on the offices of Hanuman Properties GmbH, the company which owned the mall, and CEO Ronald Schmidt and his accomplices were held responsible for the fire due to their "negligence, mismanagement of the property, and failure to comply with the National Electricity Law".

Schmidt and his three accomplices, Charlene Muller, Nina Kratky and Klaus Halvorsen were all tried at the Royal 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, and Schmidt was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.