No one to blame for Windsor building fire

After months of speculation and suspicion about the fire that destroyed a 32-floor office building in one of the city’s busiest financial districts, an investigative judge has decided that no one will be blamed for crimes in connection with the so-called Windsor building caper.

One of Madrid’s premiere skyscrapers, the Windsor caught on fire the Saturday evening of Feb. 12. Images of the edifice engulfed in bright orange flames and the firefighters who tried to put out the blaze were broadcast live on Spanish television throughout the early morning hours. They eventually made newscasts around the world. It was widely compared to the fires in the World Trade Center skyscrapers on 9/11/01.

Luckily, no one was injured in the fire because all of the offices were closed. But arson suspicions were fueled when a resident in a nearby condominium complex shot a video that purportedly showed silhouettes of two persons inside the building against a backdrop of flames. The footage was repeatedly played on international television, including CNN.

In its own private inquiry, Asón Properties, the building´s owner, concluded that an employee of the U.S. accounting firm Deloitte & Touche acknowledged leaving a cigarette burning before she left the office. Asón’s investigation also stated two security guards on duty that night failed to take immediate steps that would have otherwise saved the building in the Nuevo Ministerios sector.

But nearly a year later, Instructional Judge Mariano Ascandoni dismissed the criminal investigation ruling that “there are no indications” that the fire “was intentional.” In his written opinion released on Tuesday, Ascandoni considered it “irrelevant” on whether shadowy figures could be seen in the grainy amateur video. He also added that it was difficult to prove that the fire was caused by a cigarette but gave no explanation for its causes except to say it started on the 21st floor. Security personnel and firefighters acted accordingly and should not be held accountable for negligence, Ascandoni concluded. Nevertheless, the judge left the civil route open so that office renters could file lawsuits to see who should be held financially responsible for the losses, which by some accounts are expected to ascend to more than US$55 million.

(Photo above courtesy of www.skyscraperpage.com)