The disaster led to severe outrage among the population and provoked discussions around the material used in the renovation of the facade of more than 200 apartment blocks in Baku built in the Soviet period.
Flammable Styrofoam facing had been installed on the exterior of old buildings as part of Baku's "beautification" scheme.
[5] Consequently, the city officials started the process of removing the facade of the buildings where the material causing the fire was used.
In some extreme cases, residents used hammers and their hands to remove the material from their buildings.
A similar fire had erupted in Baku about a month earlier, on 10 April 2015, but there were no injuries.