Update: Video added. Scroll down.
A FIRE EARLIER TODAY (Saturday) in a nursing home in Kortkeros, Komi, Russia, has gutted the building and presumably killed 23 of the facility’s 26 residents.
KOMIonline
ITAR-TASS is reporting:
(an emergency official) noted that the fire had broken out at 18.20 Moscow time on Saturday and had not been put down yet. “However, it is already clear that the fire-fighting service was called too late, and the fire had spread on a greater part of the building housing the home for elderly people by the time the firemen arrived,” he said.
The emergency officer did not confirm some media reports about 25 casualties in the fire. “Three elderly people have been evacuated from the burning building by 20.00 Moscow time, the search-and-rescue operation is underway at the fire site,”
Update, 10:30 pm:
AFP is reporting also that the death count is expected to reach 23. So far seven bodies have been retrieved from the building. There were 26 residents registered in the municipal housing apartment.
The building was described as being a one-story wood frame structure that was perhaps approx. 11,000 sq. ft. in area. As is usual for major fires in Russia, the cause is being listed as a discarded cigarette, even though the fire investigators have not yet been in the building. (Firegeezer notes: This is always given as the cause and is usually proclaimed by some “ministry official” who isn’t at the fire scene. It saves a lot of expense from having to actually do any investigating as well as sparing the embarassment of having to say that they don’t know how it started.)
Update, Sunday 9 am:
The Russia Today news service has filed this video report:
Russia has a continuing problem with major life-loss fires in institutional buildings.
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