3 Killed in Moscow High-Rise Blaze
A fire in a 25-story apartment building in the Russian capital killed three people Friday night and forced hundreds of other residents to evacuate, the Associated Press reported. Efforts to extinguish the fire were hampered by low pressure in fire hydrants in the area, just west of Moscow’s central district, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
About 500 people evacuated the burning building, and were given shelter in a nearby school, ITAR-Tass said. Five were hospitalized with burns, Ekho Moskvy radio reported. The cause of the fire was not immediately reported. The city fire department confirmed the blaze, but a duty officer declined to comment on casualties.
The fire crisis management center later confirmed to Itar-Tass that three persons died and five others suffered burns and carbon monoxide intoxication and were taken to hospital. Most dwellers, evacuated form the building, were allowed to return to their apartments. Police had guarded the apartments from unauthorized intrusion throughout the fire fighting operation.
The fire alarm call came at 20:45 Moscow time on Friday. Four apartments have burnt out completely. The blaze spread to an area of 250 square meters. Thirty fire brigades were involved in dealing with it. The city fire department said it was the first fire that bad in such a high building.