2021 Osaka Building Fire

On 17 December 2021, a fire occurred in a psychiatric clinic located on the fourth floor of the Dojima Kita Building in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. The fire is suspected to have been started deliberately. Twenty-five people were killed and three more were injured, including the suspect.

On 30 December, the suspect died of injuries sustained in the fire.

Fire

On 17 December 2021, at 10:20 a.m. local time, a fire broke out at an eight-story building in Kita, a ward of Osaka, Japan. The fire broke out in a psychiatric clinic that is located on the fourth floor, called Nishi Umeda Kokoro to Karada no Kurinikku (西梅田こころとからだのクリニック, ''Nishi Umeda Clinic for the Mind and Body''). The clinic primarily treats patients suffering from depression and panic disorder, but also physical ailments, including anemia and sleep apnea. The clinic had a counselling session at 10:00 a.m. local time for patients intending to re-enter the workforce. This session was the reason that so many victims were at the clinic during the fire.

According to two survivors who were at the reception desk, a man walked into the clinic carrying a paper bag, which he placed next to a heater at the reception desk. He kicked the bag, spilling and igniting the liquid inside the bag, and the entire floor was set on fire.

Dozens of firefighters rushed to the building and the blaze was brought under control in approximately thirty minutes. The firefighters said that seventy fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene. Most of the exterior of the building remained intact, as the fire was limited to a 20-square-meter area. The department received a report on the fire at 10:18 and the fire was nearly extinguished by 10:46.

The victims gasped for air and had difficulties escaping, as there was only one escape route, with the emergency stairs and elevators being located outside the clinic.

Victims

Twenty-four people were confirmed dead at the scene of the fire, while four more were injured, including the suspect. Fourteen of the deceased were men and ten were women. The ages of the victims ranged from twenty to sixty. All of the victims were patients or staff at the clinic.

The four injured include the suspect, who was hospitalised in critical condition with severe burns, two women who are unconscious and in critical condition, and a third woman who sustained minor injuries. On 21 December, a woman in her 20s who was in critical condition with cardiac arrest died at 2:50 a.m., bringing the number killed to 25. Two people remain in critical condition.

A doctor who treated some of the casualties told reporters that many of the victims, as suggested by their limited external injuries, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Osaka police also said the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

Investigation

Police stated that they suspect that the fire was arson, and are said to be investigating further. Traces of a highly flammable liquid, most likely to be gasoline (petrol), were found at the site. Traces on the clinic's ceiling and the speed of the fire support the suspicion of arson.

On 18 December, police searched the suspect's house in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka

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