Civil Defense teams extinguishing a fire in Dekwaneh on June 23, 2026. (Credit: Civil Defense on Facebook)
BEIRUT — A large fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in a warehouse belonging to the Telecommunications Ministry in Dekwaneh (Metn), on the eastern outskirts of Beirut.
Late on Tuesday evening, the Civil Defense announced that it had succeeded in "bringing under control" the fire that had sent thick clouds of dark smoke, visible for several hours from various parts of the capital, into neighboring areas. The Air Force also took part in the fire-fighting operation, the force reported on its website.
According to a source at the Lebanese Civil Defense contacted in the afternoon, the causes of the fire remain unknown. A source at the Communications Ministry told L’Orient-Le Jour that the fire had caused no casualties. However, two members of the Civil Defense were injured whilst taking part in the fire-fighting operations and were taken to hospital for treatment, although one of them has returned to work despite a hand injury, according to a statement from the Civil Defense.
The source at the ministry explained that the thick black smoke rising from the scene of the fire was caused by the burning of rubber from the cables stored at the center. The center is used to store cables belonging to the Telecommunications Ministry, Ogero, and Alfa.
Charles Hage at the scene; Khalaf calls for a ‘total mobilization’
Telecommunications Minister Charles Hajj had visited the scene to monitor the fire-fighting operations being carried out by the Civil Defense. He had called for “efforts to be stepped up to bring the fire under control and prevent it from spreading to neighboring areas,” whilst emphasizing “the need to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of citizens,” according to the National News Agency (NNA). In the early evening, his ministry reported that the fire was “being brought under control.”
The minister also ordered an investigation to determine the causes of the fire and assess the extent of the material damage. He was accompanied by the Director-General of the Lebanese Civil Defense, Imad Khreish, and the Director-General of Ogero, Ahmad Oueidate.
For his part, Melhem Khalaf, MP for Beirut, had called earlier in the evening — before the fire had actually been brought under control — for “total mobilization and the pooling of all efforts ... in pursuit of a single objective: to bring the fire under control and prevent it from spreading as quickly as possible,” given “the scale of this fire.” “The need to act with the utmost speed in the fire-fighting operations is heightened by the fact that the fire is surrounded by flammable materials, which increases the risk of it spreading and turning into a more serious disaster threatening human lives, property, and neighboring areas,” he had also written on his X account.
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