Calderón Fire Intentional
A fire that broke out at the Calderón Guardia hospital that killed 21 people was set deliberately, the country's top investigator said Friday.

Authorities originally said 19 people died in the fire on July 12, but Jorge Rojas, director of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) - Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Unit - said Friday that two additional people died of complications during their evacuation.

Rojas said officials found no evidence of a short circuit or other accidental cause; he noted that although there was no evidence of an accelerant, the fire began in a storeroom on the 4th floor and quickly spread to the 5th floor, with flammable materials.

The pre-dawn fire swept through two floors, forcing some patients to jump from windows or climb down secured bedsheets to escape the flames.

The Calderon Guardia Hospital lacked an adequate evacuation plan. There were no fire hoses or emergency lighting, and two small staircases designed for evacuations only reached to the third floor, fire inspectors found.

Rojas refused to comment on possible motives or suspects, only saying that the investigation was "very advanced."