Fire disaster in Kemerovo

Building complex after the fire

The fire disaster in Kemerovo occurred on March 25, 2018 at 2 p.m. local time in the Simnjaja Vishnya shopping and entertainment center ( Russian Зимняя вишня , winter cherry ) in the Russian city of Kemerovo in western Siberia .

At least 64 people were killed in the major fire, including 41 children. Russia ordered a one-day state mourning for March 28, 2018 .

Cause and course of the fire

Plan of the 4th floor of the mall

The fire broke out on the fourth floor in the lighting above the ball pool in the children's play area, apparently due to a short circuit in an LED lamp that was not stopped by any fuse and was caused by the ingress of meltwater from the roof. Due to the plastic cladding, the fire spread very quickly and after a short time covered an area of around 1,600 square meters. During the fire, the smoke spread especially over the play area.

The mall used to be a candy factory that was converted and used as a mall since 2013. There were no sprinkler systems and no emergency exits in the three built-in cinemas and the halls with slot machines . No fire alarm was triggered when the fire broke out. According to investigators, the fire alarm was broken, emergency exits were blocked and security personnel who were supposed to help with the evacuation quickly left the burning shopping center. When visitors tried to leave a cinema, the doors were blocked. In the initial reactions, the officials named negligence as the cause of the fire disaster .

It is known that in Russia you can get around fire safety regulations by paying money. Corruption is particularly widespread in the area of fire protection . According to the investigation, however, other electrical installations in the building were also deficient and dangerous.

The buildings were demolished after the fire.

Day of Mourning in Russia

People across Russia commemorated the victims of the fire on March 28, 2018; Flags were raised to half-mast and entertainment events were canceled. That day, the first dead were buried in the Kemerovo region, including a teacher who had rescued many children from the fire.

Protest rallies

A three-day period of mourning began in the Kemerovo region on March 27, 2018, one day before the day of national mourning. Hundreds of people demonstrated in the city of Kemerovo that day against corruption, the violation of security regulations, the malfunctioning of the alarm system and the insufficient number of firefighters. The protests were also directed against the regional governor Aman Tulejew, who, although he himself had lost his niece in the big fire, did not visit the site of the disaster. The protesters called for the governor to resign.

Official reactions

Two days after the fire, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Kemerovo. Prosecutors had previously ordered the security equipment to be checked in all shopping centers with leisure facilities in the country.

Its long-time governor, Aman Tuleev, announced his resignation via video on the Kemerovo Region Administration website.

Criminal prosecution

The responsible authorities are investigating suspicions of negligent homicide, disregard of fire safety regulations and the provision of unsafe services. Five suspects have so far been arrested under these suspicions. A court ruled on March 29, 2018 that the head of the company that manages the mall and a security guard will remain in custody until May 25, 2018 .

Web links

Commons : 2018 Kemerovo fire - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Alice Bota: Fire in Kemerovo: Images of a superpower. In: Zeit Online . April 4, 2018, Retrieved April 7, 2018 .

Individual evidence

^ Siberia - Many dead in fire in shopping mall. In: Spiegel Online . March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018 .

^ ^A ^b ^c ^d ^e Hermann Krause (ARD Studio Moscow ): Fire disaster in the shopping center - no fire alarm, no emergency exits. In: tagesschau.de . March 26, 2018, accessed March 28, 2018 .

↑ 37 dead, 69 missing in Russian shopping center fire. ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Telegraph - Internet edition of The Daily Telegraph , 25 March 2018, accessed 26 March 2018. @1@ 2

↑ Dozens of dead in a fire in a shopping center - boss apparently arrested. In: Spiegel Online. March 26, 2018, accessed March 26, 2018 .

↑ 28 марта объявлено в России днём траура. In: President of Russia . March 27, 2018, Retrieved March 28, 2018 (Russian).

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Russia commemorates victims of fire in Kemerovo. (No longer available online.) In: Luzerner Zeitung Online . March 28, 2018, archived from the original on March 30, 2018 ; accessed on March 29, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.