Three versions are under consideration regarding the fire that broke out at the Wildberries warehouse in the village of Shushary, located in the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg. This update comes from a source close to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, as reported by RBC. The competing hypotheses are: an outside source intentionally introducing ignition, a fault or fault-related failure in the electrical grid during the emergency response, and human error or negligence in handling a fire incident.
Investigators and emergency officials have been tracing the incident to the early morning hours of January 13. At the time, more than a thousand workers were inside the facility. Initial assessments suggested that the alarm was not taken seriously by some staff who believed the alert to be a false alarm, which delayed the evacuation. The Ministry of Emergency Situations later confirmed that the affected area extended to roughly 70,000 square meters and that containment measures allowed responders to localize the blaze. In the days following, Telegram channels including Baza and Shot reported that at least two people sustained injuries while one person remained unaccounted for. The financial impact was estimated at around 10 billion rubles, underscoring the scale of the disruption to operations and the local economy.
Alexander Bastrykin, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, announced that a criminal case would be opened concerning the warehouse fire in Shushary. This marks a formal, law-enforcement response to the incident, reflecting the seriousness with which authorities are treating potential criminal factors related to the fire.
State media outlet RIA Novosti reported that the Shushary fire was the largest blaze in the history of Russian retail, highlighting its significance within the sector. The loss claims have varied across sources, with an earlier estimate from a seller indicating losses in the vicinity of 2 million rubles shortly after the event, though subsequent figures have placed the financial impact in a markedly higher range as the investigation progressed. Observers note that Wood-based or mixed-material warehouse infrastructure, large-scale inventory, and the rapid spread of flames in a densely staffed site all contributed to the severity of the incident.
As authorities pursue the criminal inquiry, emergency responders remain focused on ensuring any remaining hot spots are extinguished and that the site is secured to prevent further risk to workers and nearby residents. In parallel, investigators are collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and reviewing surveillance footage to determine the sequence of events leading up to the fire and to identify any potential lapses in safety protocols or maintenance practices. The incident has prompted discussions about safety standards in large-scale retail logistics facilities and the adequacy of fire suppression systems in such structures across the region.