Dozens of firefighters rallied in Tehran to protest their living conditions, local media reported on Wednesday, marking the fifth anniversary of a tower blaze that caused the death of many of their colleagues.<\/p>\n

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Sixteen firefighters died when Plasco, the oldest high-rise in Iran’s capital, collapsed on January 19, 2017 after a blaze engulfed the building.<\/p>\n

Four civilians also lost their lives, state media reported at the time.<\/p>\n

The 15-storey building, home to a shopping centre and hundreds of clothing suppliers, collapsed while emergency services personnel were still evacuating people from the inferno.<\/p>\n

More than 100 firefighters and their family members gathered in front of the municipality and city council in central Tehran to mark the anniversary, ISNA news agency reported.<\/p>\n

The firefighters, many wearing their red uniforms, chanted: “Adequate livelihood is our inalienable right”, and “We are tired of promises and lies, not of fire and smoke,” the agency said.<\/p>\n

They held placards reading, “discrimination, mismanagement, low pensions, welfare problems”, it added.<\/p>\n

The protesters also demanded that parliament address their issues including providing proper housing for firefighters in Tehran and increasing their salaries, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Hit by severe economic sanctions imposed since 2018 by the United States, Iran has seen its inflation rate surge to close to 60 percent.<\/p>\n

Other professions have also rallied over the past few days.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of teachers across Iran protested changes to their pay and pensions. Civil servants in the judicial sector also demonstrated, after the government refused to increase their pay.<\/p>\n

The Plasco disaster sent shock waves across Iran. Rescue teams worked for days to recover bodies from under the rubble.<\/p>\n

The owners and city officials were criticised for failing to prevent the disaster at the building, which according to the fire brigade was known to breach multiple safety regulations.<\/p>\n

A new building replacing the old tower has been completed with 20 floors, five of which are underground.<\/p>\n

But it “has not yet received the approval from the fire department,” the department’s spokesman Jalal Maleki told state TV on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The building’s management have “promised us not to inaugurate it until they get the fire department’s approval and they have so far kept their promise,” he added.<\/p>\n

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Dozens of firefighters rallied in Tehran to protest their living conditions, local media reported on Wednesday, marking the fifth anniversary of a tower blaze that caused the death of many of their colleagues.   Sixteen firefighters died when Plasco, the oldest high-rise in Iran’s capital, collapsed on January 19, 2017 after a blaze engulfed the building. Four civilians also lost their lives, state media reported at the time. The 15-storey building, home to a shopping centre and hundreds of clothing suppliers, collapsed while emergency services personnel were still evacuating people from the inferno. More than 100 firefighters and their family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567,545,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news","category-politics","category-yeswecantv-news"],"yoast_head":"\n