In Irkutsk, a fire in the post office building engulfed the roof and part of two floors, threatening nearby homes due to dense development. Firefighters rescued a guard from the first floor and two people from the second, and the fire was extinguished by 02:49. Investigators are now determining the cause, including careless use of fire and arson.

At the time the first fire brigade unit arrived, a few minutes later, the building’s roof was burning, and the second and first floors were partially on fire. The total fire area was 180 square meters. Due to the dense development, there was a threat to nearby residential buildings. Firefighters from the gas and smoke protection unit rescued the watchman from the first floor, and two people were rescued from the second floor.
For 40 minutes, the gas and smoke protection unit was in operation. The fire was extinguished at 02:49, and the aftermath of the fire was eliminated by seven o’clock in the morning.
As a result of the fire, the house roof, the stairwell, and the second floor were damaged over a total area of 155 square meters. Nearby buildings were saved from the fire. The damage from the blaze and the circumstances of the incident are being established by investigators from the Supervisory Activities Department of Irkutsk of the Directorate of Supervision of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Irkutsk Region.
- Exact details of what happened will be ready no earlier than 10 days from now, - says Senior Investigator of the Supervisory Activities Department of Irkutsk of the Directorate of Supervision of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Irkutsk Region, Lieutenant Colonel of Internal Service Alexey Rudykh. – The entrance to the post office was through a vestibule, which also contains a staircase leading to the second floor into the apartments. The fire started precisely in this vestibule. Among the causes of the fire we are considering are careless handling of fire, as well as arson.
Based on materials from the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Irkutsk Region