Iraq closes 10,000 buildings over fire safety violations in 2025

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Civil Defense Directorate said on Friday it has shut down around 10,000 commercial and industrial buildings across the country this year for failing to meet fire safety requirements, as authorities seek to curb recurring and often deadly blazes.

Nawas Sabah Shakir, head of media and public relations at the Civil Defense Directorate, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that in 2025, authorities “monitored about 10,000 commercial and industrial buildings and other projects that violated safety conditions,” closing them “for not conforming to the requirements of prevention.”

He emphasized that the measures aim “to reduce fire incidents by addressing their causes.”

Fires remain a persistent threat across Iraq, driven by factors including aging infrastructure, overcrowded public areas, poor electrical systems, and the widespread absence of basic fire safety measures.

“These facilities will not be allowed to reopen and resume their activities until they meet all the required safety standards,” Shakir said.

Iraq recorded more than 3,000 fire incidents in the first six months of this year, the Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate told Rudaw in August. The figure, which excludes the Kurdistan Region, marked a significant decrease compared to the same period in 2024.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred in mid-July 2025, when a blaze at a newly opened shopping mall in al-Kut, the capital of Iraq’s southern Wasit province, killed 63 people.

In September, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani ordered the referral of several former and current local officials in Wasit province to the judiciary over the fire, citing “failing to fulfill their duties and neglecting the responsibilities entrusted to them.”

In October, Iraq’s interior minister ordered the immediate deployment and preparation of newly imported helicopters from South Korea to bolster the Civil Defense Directorate.