Overview
- Authorities say the blaze likely began in a six-story building and traveled upward and laterally along exterior wall advertisements to an adjacent seven-story structure.
- City officials confirm most of the burned exterior wall area was on the south side where decorative signage was mounted facing the riverside walk.
- Police and the fire department are examining a probable ignition area around first-floor outdoor air-conditioning units, with reports of nearby garbage under review.
- Two firefighters died after a ceiling collapsed while they searched and fought the fire on the fifth floor of the seven-story building, and they are believed to have suffocated.
- The Osaka City Fire Department has convened an internal accident investigation committee, with an interim report planned by the end of October and a final report after external expert review later in the fiscal year.