Cause of Alzheimer's Home fire either technical fault or negligence

The cause of the fire which occurred at an Alzheimer's centre in Roztoky on June 1 is either due to negligence or a technical fault, Czech Television reported on Monday, quoting a press release by Vlasta Suchánková, spokeswoman for the Central Bohemian Police. Investigators are currently pursuing both lines of inquiry and have requested several expert statements and opinions.

If convicted of negligence, the court could sentence the offender to up to eight years in prison. The police are also investigating the responsibility of individual people. At the start of the investigation, the police had not ruled out arson as a possible cause.

55 people were injured in the fire and two women died. According to preliminary autopsy results, both died as a result of poisoning by inhaling combustion fumes. The material damage caused reached around 70 million crowns.