15 die after fire engulfs popular Russian cafe
A massive fire incident in a popular cafe in Russia on Saturday resulted in the death of 15 people while 250 were evacuated. The 'Poligon cafe' in the Russia's Kostroma city, 200 kilometer from Moscow was set into flames after a drunk man fired a "flare gun." The incident is said to have taken place at 2 am local time on Saturday.
Why does this story matter?
The massive fire claimed lives as well as caused major damage to the building. The cafe that houses night club was a prime attraction for people as it was a major "entertainment and recreation destination." Poligon had a unique feature as it would be used as a normal restaurant during the daytime, serving traditional food and would switch to a bar at night.
What happened at the bar that caused fire
"A drunk man who was spending time with a woman in the bar fired at the dance floor with the flare gun that likely caused the fire," reported TASS news agency citing sources in emergency services. It said the blaze erupted after firing and spread over 3,500 square meters. It was dozed in five hours, till around 7:30 on Saturday morning.
20 fire tenders pushed into service
The rescue operation lasted for over 5 hours at the building that houses the cafe. As per local media, 50 people along with 20 fire tender machines were pushed into service to extinguish the blaze. A firefighter told regional state TV that "the operation was not easy as there was always an apprehension of building collapse due to the blaze."
Sign 'Poligon' visible amid flames raging on roof
Sate Television of Russia showed visuals from the site displaying several dozen emergency workers on the job to extinguish fire and rescue people from the multi-story structure. An image of the site also displayed the "Poligon" signage from the rooftop amid the massive fire. The rooftop of the building also collapsed due to the hours-long blaze, reported local media.
'Hunt on to catch the accused'
Asia News International has reported that the hunt for the person who is accused of firing a flare gun - signal pistol- at the 'Poligon' nightclub has been launched following the registration of the criminal investigation. Kostroma city has a population of around 270,000.
