How to prevent similar disasters?

Renat Požėla, Director of the Fire and Rescue Department, commented on what caused the fire, the extinguishing and the damage caused.

– Who was burning and can it already determine the cause of the fire?

– It was probably the usual items of our daily lives – the household waste that we use and throw it every day. There may be batteries next to them, as we heard on Sunday that there may have been items that should be sorted separately. Unfortunately, we know that our people do not always behave responsibly and listen to recommendations. We are currently looking forward to the results of the study to find out the exact cause of the fire. The good news is that on Sunday evening, our experts got into the epicenter of the fire and performed the necessary first works.

Photo by S. Lisauskas / BNS

– What is the current fire station?

– The final work is now underway. We are nearby and work inside because the removal of the raw materials is taking place. Unfortunately, the situation is that when they move the layers, they get oxygen and begin to rust and smoke again. Open flames are no longer there, but we must constantly monitor and watered with water to prevent the fire from re -expanding.

– Is there a more complexity of garbage fires, requiring more forces?

– Such fires are a bit reminiscent of peat fires – it is very difficult to completely extinguish them. It is as if you are extinguishing the fire, but that rusty, smoke, the feeling of incompleteness of the incomplete of the fire is always near in this case, a very large room – about 7.5 thousand. square meters. As we saw in the footage, how much everything was loaded there, making it difficult to access the fireplace. The key is to ensure firefighters’ safety. It is extinguished at a distance of watering through the building cavities, the roof, and later extinguishing work from the inside.

– Are there victims? What extent to the environment?

– The environmental damage is certainly and will be assessed during the pre -trial investigation by bringing a civil claim. Most importantly, according to our data, people’s injuries were not recorded during this fire. When it comes to pollution, on Sunday morning, at 9 o’clock, we distributed recommendations to residents on how to deal with a 6 km radius from the fireplace. Thank you to everyone who followed them.

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– Who will have to take responsibility?

– First of all, the cause of the fire must be determined. If it was an intentional arson, one person will have to be responsible, and if there is failure to comply with the rules of safety – for others. All this will be explained by the pre -trial investigation, the information will be provided by the prosecutor or his authorized investigator.

– This is not the first such fire in Vilnius. How could I prevent similar disasters?

– The question is constantly, whether such objects should be in urban areas at all. Obviously, they risk human health and life. Constant checks are very important. In the case of this object, our specialists, together with environmentalists, checked it in March. We did not find any violations, I do not know if environmentalists have found. Such objects are known to us, they fall into the highest risk category and are checked every year.

– What is the air quality now?

– Sunday evening, information was circulated that people can already open windows, clean the surfaces. Naturally, some soot may have entered the premises. However, on Monday, near the object, the smell of smoke was still felt. The work is not yet fully completed.