On the night of January 17, a fire broke out at the zoo gallery on the grounds of the former Central Park of Culture and Recreation, starting around 3 a.m. in the terrarium section. Small and exotic animals were badly affected, and some rescued staff had to be taken home due to lack of conditions for care. The building was seriously damaged, and the preliminary cause may have been a short circuit.
On the night of January 17, the zoo gallery located on the grounds of the former Central Park of Culture and Recreation caught fire. The blaze broke out around three in the morning in the terrarium section. As a result, small and exotic animals were affected.According to a zoo gallery employee, the facade part of the building where the ticket office was located burned down. The small and exotic animals were badly affected by the smoke.
“The animals that were rescued from the burned premises were taken home by the zoo gallery staff — there is nowhere to keep them now. The building is seriously damaged, and we have no money for restoration. We will be closed for about a month, and then we will reopen — we need to earn money to feed the animals. The windows were broken to put out the fire — right now all the money has been put into restoring the heat,” the source said.
The cause of the fire may have been a short circuit. The building was damaged over an area of 50 square meters: the interior finish and the floor slab between the first and second floors burned down. Eighteen people and five units of equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire.