36 Killed in Fire at Russian Hospital
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Version 0 of 1. MOSCOW — A fire in a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow killed at least 36 people, most of whom were patients confined in the building because of their mental ailments, Russian news agencies reported early Friday. The building that went up in flames housed Psychiatric Hospital No. 14 in the town of Ramensky near Moscow. Interfax, a news agency, reported it was a “special regime” hospital, meaning that patients were not free to leave. It is unclear whether this was a factor in the high death toll, as it has been in past fires in psychiatric institutions in Russia. Though patients are typically confined behind barred windows, Russia’s overall lax culture of fire safety means few plans are made for emergency exits. The fire began in an outbuilding to the main wood-and-brick hospital at about 2 a.m., Interfax reported. When firefighters arrived the building was in flames. The press service of the Interior Ministry of Moscow said 36 people had died while 38 people had been in the building. Two people jumped from a window, the agency reported. Fires claim a sad and steady death toll in Russia, far higher than in developed countries. Fire exits are locked, blocked by boxes in storage or simply nonexistent. Barred windows in nursing homes and hospitals have been the cause of horrendous death tolls, as have fires in student dormitories. A fatalistic Russian shrug or a bribe to fire inspectors are all too common responses to dangers. Earlier this spring the building of one of Russia’s most prestigious theater schools burned, though with no casualties; the attic had been packed with drapes, costumes and the tinder of wooden set materials, all of which burned vigorously and quickly. |