In Kemerovo, the rubble was cleared at the site of a fire in a private nursing home located on Tavricheskaya Street.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.

“At 05:25 Moscow time, rescuers completed work on the rubble.

The fire killed 20 people.

As the regional center for disaster medicine added, as a result of the emergency, six people also suffered, four had mild poisoning from combustion products, they were determined for outpatient treatment.

“Two people with burns were hospitalized in a serious condition,” RIA Novosti quotes the text of the message.

Later, the UK clarified that the death toll had increased to 22 people.

According to the regional head office of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the message about the fire was received at 02:21 local time (22:21 Moscow time on December 23), at 03:39 (23:39 Moscow time on December 23) the fire was localized, and ten minutes later it was liquidated.

The fire area was 180 square meters.

m., he was assigned an increased rank of difficulty.

At the same time, the second floor of the building collapsed, in which the fire occurred.

After that, the removal of rubble began, which took place at -20 ° C.

86 people and 31 pieces of equipment were involved in the elimination of the consequences of the emergency.

The mayor of Kemerovo Dmitry Anisimov and the chairman of the government of Kuzbass Ilya Seredyuk arrived at the scene of the fire, they headed the operational headquarters.

In turn, the governor of the region, Sergei Tsivilev, said that the authorities would check all nursing homes.

“We will check all institutions of this type, primarily private ones.

Checks will be completed within a week,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.

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As noted in law enforcement agencies, the cause of the fire could be improper operation of the furnace.

The nursing home was located on the second floor of a two-story wooden building. 

“A private residential building was adapted for the elderly.

There was stove heating.

According to preliminary data, it was the improper operation of the stove that caused the fire, ”TASS quoted a law enforcement representative as saying.

The prosecutor's office of the Kemerovo region has begun an audit of compliance with fire safety requirements, based on the results of which, if necessary, prosecutorial response measures will be taken.

“The situation is under control in the regional prosecutor’s office,” the supervisory authority said.

In turn, the investigators opened criminal cases under the articles “Causing death by negligence to two or more persons” (part 3 of article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), “Negligence, that is, failure to perform or improper performance by an official of his duties due to dishonest or negligent attitude towards service or official duties, negligently resulting in the death of two or more persons” (part 3 of article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and “Provision of services that do not meet the requirements of the safety of life or health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence” (part 3 of article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) 3 article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

It is noted that their production was entrusted to the investigative department for the investigation of particularly important cases of the apparatus of the investigative department in the Kemerovo region.

“An investigation team is working at the scene of the incident, which includes the most experienced investigators and forensic investigators, as well as the leadership of the department.

A number of examinations are appointed, including forensic and fire-technical ones.

The owner of the premises is established.

The necessary investigative actions are being taken to establish all the circumstances of the incident, ”the UK explained.

Along with this, RIA Novosti, citing the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, reported that earlier this year the leadership of the nursing home denied access to the premises to the inspector of the State Fire Supervision Service.

A protocol was drawn up against the owner on obstructing the lawful activities of an official.

It is clarified that the shelter for the elderly was identified in December 2021, and the Russian Emergencies Ministry sought to conduct a control and supervisory inspection there, assuming that fire safety requirements may be violated.

“Such objects belong to an extremely high risk category, which is why the prosecutor’s office included it in the inspection plan for 2023,” the report says.

In addition, TASS, citing law enforcement agencies, reported that the owner of the building in which the fire occurred was identified.

She was taken to the investigation department.

It is specified that the woman leased the building.

In addition, found the organizer of the nursing home.

This is the pastor of the Evangelical Church Andrey Smirnov.