Fires in buildings/Engineer warns of danger: Styrofoam facades must disappear

2026-04-14 19:11:00, Aktualitet CNA

Engineer Arben Meçe said today that the facades of buildings, replaced with polystyrene and then plastered with graffiti, are extremely dangerous for citizens.

In a television appearance, the engineer stated that this technology should no longer be used, as polystyrene is a petroleum product that is used to set fires, and as a result, it is very difficult to extinguish.

According to the engineer, another danger posed by this material is the increase in the amount of smoke produced by carbon monoxide, causing asphyxiation.

"The facade is burning and in both cases the same thing will happen. Today in Albania the technology for making warm facades is with polystyrene, and then plastering with graffiti. All buildings are made in this way. This technology must disappear because it is risky. Both, the first case and this one, have polystyrene at their core, which is an oil product and is used to set fires and is difficult to extinguish. In the first case, the fire behind the Tirana Municipality, the facade was ventilated and had polystyrene, while this facade has plastering, polystyrene and graffiti.

The contact of polystyrene with the environment is non-existent. The event is taking place in a situation that leaves a lot of debate; all the buildings in Tirana have this material and it is potentially flammable. If we have an arsonist, he could set the whole of Tirana on fire. It must be investigated whether we are dealing with an arsonist, a terrorist act or negligence. I exclude negligence, because it is a technology that does not come into contact with electricity; it must be a large amount.

The smoke that comes out is black and we are dealing with cold material; you can't put it out with water. Only foam can put out this material. This fire is a bomb for any apartment; the material can catch fire anytime. Its danger is asphyxiation, in addition to fire, because the smoke that is produced is carbon monoxide, which is the biggest poison," Meçe said. /CNA