The direct trigger of the riots was the Battle of Ismailia, an attack on an Egyptian police installation in Ismaïlia by British forces on 25 January, in which roughly 50 auxiliary policemen were killed.

[4] The spontaneous anti-British protests that followed these deaths were quickly seized upon by organized elements in the crowd, who burned and ransacked large sectors of Cairo amidst the unexplained absence of security forces.

[5][6] The perpetrators of the Cairo Fire remain unknown to this day, and the truth about this important event in modern Egyptian history has yet to be established.

[7] The disorder that befell Cairo during the 1952 fire has been compared to the chaos that followed the anti-government protests of 25 January 2011, which saw demonstrations take place amidst massive arson and looting, an inexplicable withdrawal of the police, and organized prison-breaking.

On the morning of 25 January 1952, Brigadier Kenneth Exham, the British commander in the region, issued an order to Egyptian policemen in Ismaïlia, demanding that they surrender their weapons and leave the canal zone.

Together they marched towards the prime minister's office to demand that Egypt break its diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and declare war on Britain.

Abdul Fattah Hassan, the Minister of Social Affairs, told them that the Wafdist government wished to do so, but faced opposition from King Farouk I.

[11] Fueled by anti-British and anti-Western sentiment, the mob concentrated on British-owned properties along with establishments with foreign connections,[3] as well as buildings popularly associated with Western influence.

Due to the prevailing chaos, theft and looting occurred, until the Egyptian Army arrived shortly before sunset and managed to restore order.

[3] Nearly 300 shops were destroyed, including some of Egypt's most famous department stores, such as Cicurel, Omar Effendi and the Salon Vert.

[4] Egyptian Army troops quickly moved to restore order, which dissuaded the British from increasing the zone of their occupation.

[1] Although some of the country's politicians may have been implicated in the initial outbreak of violence,[3] it has never been fully determined who started the Cairo Fire.

Others have promoted the conspiracy theory that the British authorities instigated the fire to punish the administration of el-Nahhas for its unilateral abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1951.

Following the 23 July 1952 coup, an inquiry was opened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Cairo Fire, but failed to identify the real perpetrators.