Over 150,000 households and apartments were inspected by EMERCOM employees in the Vitebsk region in 2022

Shortly before the professional holiday, Rescuer's Day, the results of the service's work for 2022 were summarized in Vitebsk. The Head of the Vitebsk Regional Emergency Situations Ministry Department, Sergey Meleshkin, provided statistics:

— By the end of 2022, the number of fires in the region decreased by 7 cases, from 948 to 941. 109 people died in these fires, which is 7 more cases than in 2021. Among them, one child lost their life to fire. This happened on October 22. The teenage girl was home alone, planning to cook breakfast in the morning, and fell asleep, leaving the gas stove on. By the time rescuers arrived at the scene, the house was engulfed in flames. The teenager could not be saved.

61 people were injured in fires in the northern region, which is 47 more cases than in 2021. 59 victims were rescued from the fire. The majority of fire incidents (521) still occur in rural areas. The main causes of fires were careless handling of fire (396 cases, the same as in 2021); violation of the rules for the installation and operation of electrical networks and electrical equipment, as well as the installation and operation of stoves and other heat-generating appliances. The remaining fires were due to arson (32), fire-related work – an increase of 29.4% (from 17 to 22), and children playing with fire.

As before, residential buildings are the most frequent sites of fires – over 70% of the total number of fires. Enterprise facilities account for 9%, and vehicles – slightly over 10%. People leading an anti-social lifestyle often become victims of fires, Meleshkin noted:

— As a rule, they are unemployed, abuse alcohol, and have another bad habit – smoking. Of the 109 deceased, 91 were intoxicated, and almost half of the fires (396) were caused by careless handling of fire, with 271 of them related to unextinguished cigarettes.

Rescuers, together with interested prevention entities, continue their individual work, including with citizens from the so-called "risk group." In 2022, the Ministry of Emergency Situations employees inspected over 151,000 households and apartments. This work has continued into the current year.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by