Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
A catastrophic structural fire tore through a carpentry workshop and commercial storage facility within the densely populated Manshiyat Naser district of Cairo during the early morning hours on Tuesday. The tragic incident resulted in the martyrdom of three dedicated civil defense members who successfully rescued trapped families before a partial structural collapse occurred.
Among the fallen heroes was Major General Mohamed El-Sherbiny, the Director General of the Cairo Civil Defense Administration, who passed away on Wednesday morning inside a local hospital following a desperate medical battle to save his life. Captain Abdel Rahman El-Adawy and Police Warrant Officer Hamad Abdel Jawab also made the ultimate sacrifice while executing their frontline rescue duties.
Emergency Response Units Mobilize Heavy Equipment to Combat Midnight Inferno
The initial sparks ignited inside a local carpentry facility situated within Abdel Tawab Lane before quickly spreading to the upper residential levels of the five-story structure. Terrified residents raised the alarm at half-past three in the morning, prompting the Cairo emergency operations room to immediately dispatch seventeen specialized fire engines.
Major General El-Sherbiny personally led the dangerous firefighting operation alongside high-capacity water tankers and automated hydraulic ladders to prevent the blaze from consuming adjacent properties. The intense thermal energy quickly breached the primary structure, threatening an attached neighborhood mosque and an adjacent apartment complex.
Heroic Rescue Actions Save Seven Encircled Families Before Building Failure
Captain El-Adawy and Warrant Officer Abdel Jawab demonstrated exceptional bravery by charging directly into the center of the raging inferno to locate trapped civilians. The disciplined rescue teams successfully evacuated seven separate families who had become entirely encircled by heavy smoke and advancing columns of flame.
Although the specialized teams managed to bring the primary fire under control, the intense heat completely compromised the foundational concrete pillars of the building. A sudden partial collapse trapped several frontline operators beneath heavy debris, triggering an immediate emergency evacuation response from standby paramedic teams.
Military Honors Accompany Fallen Heroes During Moving Funeral Ceremonies
The sudden building failure resulted in injuries to twelve additional civil defense personnel who were quickly rushed to nearby medical facilities for urgent treatment. Captain El-Adawy and Warrant Officer Abdel Jawab succumbed to their severe injuries mere minutes after being pulled from the structural ruins.
Senior leadership from the Ministry of Interior gathered at the Police Mosque in the Fifth Settlement to participate in a formal military funeral for Captain El-Adawy. Simultaneously, hundreds of grieving citizens and security chiefs gathered in the Menoufia Governorate to bid a final farewell to Warrant Officer Abdel Jawab during a solemn burial procession.
