On 19 January 2017, a fire started on the ninth floor at around 07:50 local time. The building was occupied at the time by its residents, workers at the garment shops, and various tour groups that were being shown around the building. Ten fire brigades arrived to fight the blaze. The combined brigades had been trying to stop the fire for hours—while assuring that the building had been evacuated—when the building's north wall collapsed without warning, leading to the collapse of the rest of the building a few moments later. The collapse was captured on camera by Iran's state-run Press TV, which was filming the firefighting efforts. Several firefighters were in the building when the north wall fell, some of whom safely escaped before the building completely collapsed. A number had been fighting the fire from elevated aerial platforms that toppled over during the collapse of the building. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, said he believed that no other civilians were within the building when it collapsed, but eyewitnesses reported seeing residents crossing police lines to try to enter the building and recover their possessions. Twenty firefighters have been reported to be killed. At least 70 others were injured by the collapse, with 23 taken to local hospitals having suffered severe injuries. The building primarily collapsed vertically, causing minimal damage to neighboring buildings. The remains of 15 firefighters were recovered after nine days of relief and rescue operations, which were aided by the local military. Tens of thousands of Iranians, including firefighters and senior officials, attended the funeral ceremony held at Tehran's Grand Mosalla. They were laid to rest in part of the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery that is reserved for martyrs. Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei eulogized the firefighters in a message, calling them heroes and shaheeds. Following the building's collapse, its owner, the Mostazafan Foundation, declined to make a public statement. Four days later, on 23 January 2017 the foundation apologized for their role in the possible failure in building's safety, but added that they are not a member of building's board who is responsible for the building's affairs. Mohammad Saeedikia, CEO of Mostazafan Foundation also said that the organization is ready to rebuild the Plasco in two years. In April 2017the government issued a report on the collapse of the building which stated that the Mostazafan Foundation had ignored warnings given by the authorities. The report also stated that government ministries had failed to enforce 22 national building regulations.
