Monday 20/October/2025 – 06:49 PM
The competent investigation authorities referred a nurse to criminal trial after she deliberately set fires inside 7 intensive care rooms at Helwan General Hospital, in one of the strangest cases whose horrific details were revealed by investigations.
A nurse was referred to trial after setting fire to 7 intensive care rooms at Helwan General Hospital
Case No. 33 of 2025 included the investigation of Helwan College, registered under No. 1893 of 2025 Helwan College, and investigations were conducted under the supervision of Counselor Hisham Raafat, the first general attorney for the Helwan College Prosecution.
The details of the incident are due to the Civil Protection Operations Room of the Cairo Security Directorate receiving an urgent report from the administration of Helwan General Hospital, stating that a limited fire had broken out inside the hospital’s intensive care department.
Fire and rescue forces moved in, supported by a number of fire engines. A wide security cordon was imposed around the hospital, and evacuation paths were allocated to ensure the transfer of patients to safe areas inside the building.
Upon examination and inspection, it was found that the fire broke out in a room designated for medical devices, and partially spread to some solutions and wires connected to sensitive devices, before firefighters were able to control it in record time, preventing it from spreading to neighboring rooms and suites.
According to the hospital administration, about 16 patients were evacuated from the intensive care rooms in cooperation with medical staff and security forces, and some of them were transferred to nearby hospitals to ensure their safety and to continue receiving treatment without interruption.
Detective investigations and forensic analysis revealed an unexpected surprise. The security authorities found that behind the incident was one of the nurses working at the hospital, called Shorouk A. A., who was 23 years old.
After her interrogation and review of the surveillance cameras and the testimonies of her colleagues, it was found that the accused was present at the site of the fire minutes before it broke out, and that she used a medical glove moistened with alcohol to accelerate the ignition, and ignited it with a small lighter that she had in her possession, then threw it into the rooms one by one without anyone noticing her.
The Forensic Evidence Department’s report proved that the fire was caused by using a highly flammable alcoholic substance, and that the resulting damage included seven entire intensive care rooms, in addition to a number of sensitive medical devices and solutions.
Confronting the nurse, the accused said: “I did not plan to burn the hospital, but what was in my mind at that moment was that I saw the fire being passionate and terrifying people… This is a syndrome I have. I love seeing the fire passionate and people are afraid.”
Following the end of the investigations, the Helwan Public Prosecution decided to initially detain the accused, then ordered her referral to urgent criminal trial after it was proven through material and laboratory evidence that she was directly responsible for the incident.
The prosecution charged her with intentionally setting fire to a government building affiliated with the Ministry of Health during and because of the performance of her job, which is a felony punishable by aggravated imprisonment according to Articles 252 and 253 of the Egyptian Penal Code.
Technical inspection reports confirmed that the fire caused severe material damage to seven intensive care rooms, including respirators, medical beds, and central feeding networks, in addition to other material losses estimated at tens of thousands of pounds.
