On the night of December 24, a fire broke out in an illegal shelter on Tavricheskaya Street in Kemerovo. According to the UK, the signal about the fire was received by the Ministry of Emergencies at 03:30 local time. TASS writes that the entire second floor of the building was already on fire when the firefighters arrived.
As a result, the fire area expanded to 180 square meters. m The fire was given the second degree of complexity. More than 80 people and 28 pieces of equipment participated in the extinguishing.
The shelter for the homeless and the elderly was located in a two-story building: on the first floor there were shops, including animals, and on the second floor there were guests. The second floor was completely destroyed.
The Investigative Committee reported that 22 people were killed. Two of the six victims were in serious condition, with burns and four were sent for outpatient treatment – they were poisoned with carbon monoxide, TASS writes. Those on the first floor managed to escape.
Citing a source, NGS42.RU reported that rescuers found several bodies near the exit, about two to three meters away. All the bodies were badly burned.
Baza Telegram channel spoke to a volunteer at a burnt-out shelter. “We sleep. The house caught fire. They did not understand where the source of the fire came from. Someone shouted that there was a fire. The one who had time fled from the house. Sergei, an eyewitness, said that the rest of the people drowned and burned, ”he said. According to him, there may be 27 people in the building.
At 6 a.m. local time, rescuers cleared the debris. Their work was complicated by frost and blizzards at -20°C.
TASS was notified by law enforcement that this building is illegal for the elderly. Also, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation said that shortly before the fire, the shelter management refused to let the fire safety inspector into the building. It was December, at the same time they drafted a protocol against the owner of the building.
It was noted that this building is an object of an extremely high risk category and is therefore included in the 2023 inspection plan.
“The Ministry of Emergencies of Russia tried to implement an unscheduled measure of control and inspection, since the State Fire Supervision Service had reason to believe that the fire safety requirements, threatening life and health, could be violated in the shelter. people,” the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS.
In December 2022, the shelter management did not allow employees of the State Fire Inspection Service to enter the building, so a protocol was drawn up against the landlord to impede the officer’s legal activities.
According to the Telegram channel of the press service of the governor, the governor of the Kemerovo region, Sergei Tsivilev, promised that the local authorities will control all nursing homes.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Tsivilev said that we will control all institutions of this type, especially private ones, and emphasized that the controls will be completed within a week.
The Regional Committee of Investigation filed a lawsuit under Part 3 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 3 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: causing death due to negligence, negligence and the provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the life safety or health of consumers.
The UK also identified the owner of the facility. According to TASS, he is already being questioned. It was alleged that he rented the house.
As for the causes of the incident, law enforcement is not yet able to give a definite answer. According to one version, the house can catch fire due to improper use of the stove.
“A special residential building was adapted for the elderly. There was stove heating. “According to preliminary data, the fire was caused by improper operation of the furnace,” he said.
An Interfax source claims that the cause of the fire may have been an electrical heater or wiring malfunction.
In addition, Dmitry Strukov, the head of the first fire and rescue team of the Kemerovo Region Emergency Situations Main Directorate, said that there were gas cylinders in the nursing home where the fire broke out.
After the fire, a group of central devices of the Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation flew to the Kemerovo region.
Shelter Creator
According to preliminary data, the owner of the burned-out mercy house in Kemerovo is the local priest of the Evangelical Christian Church Andrei Smirnov. Telegram channel Baza writes that the 31-year-old man decided to open it three years ago to help others, as he was allegedly homeless himself.
REN claims that in addition to serving in the church, Smirnov was also engaged in business. Allegedly, he opened an individual entrepreneur in 2019 and was engaged in retail, mainly animal feed (there was a pet store in the hostel building) and building cleaning.
But in the last six months, Smirnov’s commercial turnover has fallen. In December, the amount was 5 times less than in July. In addition, REN TV points out that the bailiffs are trying to collect a debt of about 500 thousand rubles from the priest-entrepreneur.
Neighbors of the burning bunker claim to NGS42.RU that this is a place where homeless people of all ages can live, not just the elderly. One of the locals told a regional broadcast that the shelter owners are planning to replace the boiler. According to the man, the old boiler was in poor condition and was located in an annex at the back of the house.
Another neighbor told NGS42.RU that the owners of the burning house did not let anyone in.
“The store did not go, and the bait did not go either. Three years ago there was a scandal, social networks did not agree on this. [постояльцев] how to keep pigs anyhow they [те, кто это сообщили] hit. Maybe that’s why they didn’t let anyone in.”