In Kharkiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the home for the elderly, where a fire broke out on January 21.
During the inspection of the site of the tragedy, Deputy Minister of the Interior Serhii Yarovyi reported to the President on the circumstances of the emergency situation and the course of rescuing people and extinguishing the fire. According to him, information about the fire was received at 15:03.
"During the investigation, it was established that there may be elderly people inside the building. Sufficient units of the State Emergency Service were sent to carry out firefighting and rescue operations. Upon arrival at 15:15, the situation was as follows: flames and thick black smoke erupted around the perimeter of the entire building. The windows showed that the fire had spread to the entire second floor. The ceiling between the first and second floors was also on fire,” Serhii Yarovyi said.
13 units of equipment and 50 rescuers worked at the scene of the fire.
According to the Deputy Interior Minister, nine people were rescued during the firefighting. They were hospitalized.
"Unfortunately, 15 people were found dead on the second floor," he added.
When asked by the President why it was not possible to save people, Serhii Yarovyi noted that the fire spread very quickly, and on the second floor all people were less mobile or had diseases related to mental disorders.
"People were bedridden, but who installed the bars on the windows?" the Head of State asked.
In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was told that this home for the elderly was private and operated without properly executed documents for this type of activity. People stayed here illegally; relatives paid for their stay.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke briefly with local residents living near the burned-out house. They told about how long this house had been functioning and what steps they had tried to take to stop it, as well as about yesterday's events.
The President stressed the need to audit similar institutions in Ukraine, which could potentially lead to such tragic situations.
"This issue is not settled in the state, because we see such a case. Our National Police has already found six such facilities in Kharkiv. They are different, the details are also being clarified, and they will report to us. I think that we should set a task to find such objects all over the country so that we know about them not from such tragic moments when fires occur and 15 people are lost,” the President said during a conversation with media representatives in Kharkiv.
The Head of State noted that there are many issues with such institutions, and "this is a serious challenge".
According to the police, the owner of the building who rented it out, the tenants who organized an illegal home for the elderly, and its administrator have already been detained as part of the criminal proceedings.
