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Russian nursing home fire kills 23, proves fire safety lax in country
February 4th, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Only four people managed to escape. But the others – 23 people who were unable to walk or crawl to safety – perished in a devastating fire at a government nursing home in Podyeisk, Russia, according to CBS News.
The single-story building burned so quickly that it was entirely engulfed in flames by the time fire fighters arrived. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined but many are beginning to suspect the 45-year-old building’s poor infrastructure and the gross negligence of a nursing home manager, who had been fined several times prior to the fires for neglecting fire safety rules. For one, he was repeatedly told to install smoke detectors but never did. The home’s staff also reportedly left residents unattended at night.
Russia has been plagued with fire deaths in recent years. In 2008 alone, more than 15,000 people died in fires – five times more than in the U.S. And thus far in 2009, 2,000 Russians have perished in fires. Over the past two years, at least six Russian orphanages, nursing homes and schools have caught fire, killing more than 100 people.
The country is populated by numerous aging buildings with weakened infrastructures and outdated electrical systems, making the buildings unsafe. Inadequate and dysfunctional fire fighting equipment makes fighting the fires difficult. That paired with social issues such as high rates of smoking and alcohol abuse have only exasperated the problem, according to the story.
Critics say the government would rather focus on defense spending, security services and “showy displays of the country’s military,” according to the story. Perhaps the biggest problem, says Boris Nemtsov, a member of congress and former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, is the government’s indifference to its own people.
