On Monday, January 5, the head of the Riga City Council's Urban Development Committee, Edgars Bergholcs, will discuss the gas explosion incident with the leadership of the Riga Construction Administration, the committee's chief referent Ilva Skreba informed the LETA agency.
After the gas explosion in an apartment building at Bauskas Street 15 in Torņakalns, which occurred on Friday, January 2, Edgars Bergholcs convened an extraordinary meeting of the Riga City Council. The head of the construction administration and the acting head of the urban development department will participate in it. The meeting is planned to discuss the further operation of the building, providing support to the building manager and apartment owners, as well as the possibilities for city authorities to reduce the risks of similar incidents in the future.
Bergholcs emphasized that it is currently important to ensure the safe presence of residents in the building. According to the conclusion of the construction administration experts, it is prohibited to stay in the house until a thorough technical inspection is conducted by a certified construction specialist.
Bergholcs believes that one way to reduce the risks of gas explosions in apartment buildings could be mandatory insurance for residential buildings. This would provide financial resources for the rapid restoration of the building in case of an emergency. Currently, residential buildings are insured relatively rarely - most often only individual apartments. According to Bergholcs, a principle similar to mandatory vehicle insurance (OCTA) should be implemented: not only each vehicle participating in road traffic should be insured, but also the buildings where people live.
As a second direction, Bergholcs suggests reviewing the requirements and procedures for inspecting apartment buildings. In his opinion, a technical journal for inspecting the building's engineering communications should become mandatory, in which checks by specialists, including those for gas systems, are recorded according to an established algorithm. He also believes that existing regulations should be reviewed so that inspections cover all key systems of the building in sufficient detail - electricity, gas, structural elements, and other engineering communications.
The third direction, according to Bergholcs, is related to the automation of safety systems. Currently, apartment owners are only required to install smoke detectors; however, similar devices should also be introduced for detecting gas leaks. When such a system is triggered, the gas supply should be automatically shut off.
As reported, as a result of the gas explosion in Torņakalns on Bauskas Street, two people died, the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) informed the LETA agency. Two more people were injured.
