Following the fire that started last night, on November 17, 2025, around 11 p.m. in Zagreb’s Vjesnik on Slavonska avenija in Zagreb, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić called an emergency meeting this afternoon in the premises of the Ministry with the dean and professors from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, and representatives of the Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering (HCPI) to determine further steps for ensuring safety and emergency response actions.
Along with the Minister, the meeting was also attended by Chief Advisor to the Minister Iva Hudan, General Secretary Helga Svirčić, Special Advisor to the Minister Dominik Skokandić, professors from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and members of HCPI Domagoj Damjanović, Milan Crnogorac, Josip Atalić, Juraj Pojatina, Mario Uroš and Marija Jelčić Rukavina.
After the meeting, an on-site visit followed together with emergency responders. Emergency measures were taken regarding securing the location, assessing structural safety of the object, documenting the damage and preparing for rehabilitation works. The Ministry will, in cooperation with all competent institutions, take all the necessary actions to begin rehabilitating the consequences of the fire as soon as possible.
Minister Bačić highlighted that “the priority is the safety of citizens considering the damage to the building”, adding that after the fire has been completely extinguished, experts will inspect the building in cooperation with firefighters in order to guide the actions of “securing the space tomorrow and in the days to follow,” and determine all further steps.
It is too soon to speak about whether it is necessary to demolish the skyscraper, he said, adding that the decision will be made upon examination, and expressing gratitude to all services involved in extinguishing the fire and to the construction professionals as well.
Assoc Prof. Mario Uroš, PhD, from the Faculty of Civil Engineering warned that the fire lasts a very long time and that it has surely “put a strain on the load-bearing capacity of many elements - columns, beams and the very ceiling structures.”
“The fire-protection elements within the building itself were not adequate, which is why the fire spread quickly. The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but the load-bearing capacity of the structure has definitely been degraded. The question is to what extent. Not evenly. Some floors suffered more damage, some less. We need to carry out an analysis,” he said.
The structure of the building itself, he added, is probably not compromised, but roof structures can be very troublesome. The condition will be assessed in the days to follow.
Head of City Office for Local Self-Government, Transport, Civil Protection and Safety of the City of Zagreb Andro Pavuna stated that there is an agreement with the police that Savska cesta will temporarily open for traffic in both directions in a few hours, while Slavonska avenija will be open only towards west and via the northern roadway. The underpass will be closed for both directions.
“The underpass will be closed, as well as the eastbound direction from Savska ulica. This will apply until further notice, hopefully for a short time, as short as possible. The measure was taken for safety reasons, due to potential elements falling off the skyscraper,” Pavuna said.
Let us recall, earlier this morning we reported the fire spread vertically and engulfed several floors and the roof area of the building, which required the involvement of a large number of firefighters.
The Ministry once again expressed its gratitude to all emergency responders - the police, the Public Fire Brigade of the City of Zagreb and all firefighters who responded immediately and make every effort to primarily extinguish the fire and, in turn, ensure further safety.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, and competent bodies conduct an investigation to determine the circumstances of its outbreak. In order to stop further damage, gas and electricity have been shut off in the affected part of the building. Luckily, nobody has been injured.
The Republic of Croatia co-owns the Vjesnik business complex together with other legal persons. The fire affected part of the object used for storing archival material, while the side part of the object (the so-called annex) used by the Ministry as offices for employees has not been damaged.
The Ministry will notify the public on all further steps in due time.
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