A video made yesterday evening shows the extent of the fire that consumed the wooden barracks used by the Skopje public company for road management.

The offices are completely destroyed, and with them the documents about contracts, public procurement and other financial dealings by the city administration. The fire started from a vehicle parked next to the barracks, which apparently exploded. This sparked widespread rumors that this is a case of arson, meant to destroy evidence of possible financial abuse.

The incident comes at a time when the SDSM led administration in the city of Skopje is leaving, and is being replaced by officials named by newly elected Mayor Danela Arsovska, who was supported by VMRO-DPMNE. In the run up to the October local elections, VMRO frequently accused SDSM local officials of rigging contracts in Skopje.

The fire badly damaged a car near-by. It is owned by Gavril Bubevski, prosecutor with the disgraced Special Prosecutor’s Office, who was one of the chiefs of SDSM’s politically driven prosecution of VMRO officials over the past years. Bubevski told the press that his car was “collateral damage” in the incident.