Investigations have established that the delay in reporting the fire that consumed ten floors of the Hajer Tower in Makkah two weeks ago was caused by a security employee who opted to call his supervisor instead of alerting the Civil Defense. Col. Jameel Arba'ien, chief of Makkah Civil Defense, said that a member of the tower's security staff, after seeing the fire on the 32nd floor, went to the site control room and contacted his supervisor instead of Civil Defense, resulting in a delay in reporting the fire to the appropriate authorities of between one and one-and-a half hours. Col. Arba'ien said laboratory reports estimated the time at which the fire began to be between 10 and 10.30 P.M., while the call for assistance was received by the Civil Defense at 11.30 P.M. The investigation team, assisted by experts from the General Department of Criminal Evidence, revealed on Monday that the fire was caused by sparks from wielding equipment igniting wooden planks at the site, removing any suspicion of criminal intent. Eighty workers in the tower, which was under construction at the time of the fire, including engineers, supervisors and laborers were questioned during the investigation. Lt. Col. Ali Al-Muntashiry, spokesman for Makkah Civil Defense, said that the committee which conducted the investigation was formed by representatives of the Civil Defense, Makkah Police and the company responsible for the tower's construction. Work at the site resumed on Tuesday. Col. Arba'ien said that legal proceedings would be taken against the company carrying out the works. – Okaz Earlier this week, Lt. Gen Sa'ad Al-Twaijri, chief of Civil Defense, said he was surprised that the Civil Defense was informed of the fire 45 minutes after it broke out. – Okaz __
