A man who had previously escaped a fire tragically died in a separate blaze just two days later. The incident occurred in the city of Saratov in southwestern Russia. The man, whose identity remains unknown, managed to flee a fire in his fourth-floor apartment on January 23 but succumbed to another fire on January 25.
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The regional Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that a man born in 1973 lost his life in the emergency. The fire is believed to have been started by a cigarette. The man had escaped the fire on January 23, during which a mattress in his home caught fire. It is unclear whether he sustained any injuries during that incident. Authorities have not confirmed whether the man died in the same location as the first fire or elsewhere. A forensic medical examination has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death, according to RTVI.
In 2023, Russia experienced a record number of industrial fires, according to data from Molfar, an open-source intelligence agency in Ukraine. The number of such fires more than doubled from the previous year, with 939 incidents reported in 2023 compared to 416 in 2022. This represents a 125.7 percent increase in such blazes in the country. Molfar also noted a 24.5 percent increase in fires in 2022 compared to 2021, coinciding with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The causes of many of these fires remain unexplained, and Kremlin and local officials rarely provide public statements regarding the incidents. Firefighter shortages have also been reported, with a civil defense specialist stating that the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations lacks over 20,000 firefighters. Issues with fuel, uniforms, aircraft used in firefighting, and search and rescue units have also been reported.