Beijing department store fire put out after 71 hours

The fire at a department store in downtown Beijing was extinguished on Sunday morning, 71 hours after it started.

A total of 850 fire fighters and 165 fire trucks were dispatched to quell the flames, which began raging around 9 a.m. Thursday at the Bairong Shimao Department Store in Beijing's Dongcheng District.

There were no casualties and the fire died down at 8:30 am Sunday.

A 16-year-old boy who allegedly caused the fire by igniting a carton in the warehouse of the store was arrested on Thursday, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

The suspect, an employee of the store, was "looking for something fun to do" when he set the fire, police said.

An initial estimate shows that the burned area reaches 2,800 square meters. A construction expert who was involved in the fire fight said the building's major structure remains intact.