This week, firefighters rushed to the Ledurga parish of the Sigulda region. A one-story house and its roof were on fire – covering an area of about 100 square meters. Firefighting had to be carried out with increased caution due to potentially explosive items in the house, but the flames were managed to be localized, and fortunately, there were no casualties, reports the Degpunktā program (TV3).
The signal about a burning house in Ledurga mobilized rescuers from two towns in Vidzeme and three villages. Numerous fire trucks and firefighters arrived to save property. However, less than an hour before the incident, neighbor Modris saw the homeowner clearing snow in the yard and apparently preparing to leave.
"We were returning home for about three hours – there was no trace, nothing was there, only the car was standing in the yard with its headlights on, as if it was about to leave," Modris said.
Soon another neighbor, passing by, saw smoke and heard the crackling of exploding slate. He immediately called the rescuers, and Modris with other residents went to see what was happening at the neighbor's: "I got a call and was asked: 'What is happening with you?' I went out onto the porch and saw the flames. The rescuers had already been called."
"I asked the woman from the ambulance – she said the homeowner was in Riga. She said there were no casualties – thank God," clarified local resident Egija.
At the scene, alongside state and local rescuers, the voluntary fire brigade of Inčukalns was also working. The chairman of this organization, Rihards Keišs, noted that if the homeowner had stayed at home for just a few more minutes, the damage would have been significantly less.
"They simply did not notice in time that a fire had started. Because of this, the damage turned out to be so serious. The house probably caught fire across the entire area precisely because there was no one on site," Keišs clarified.
50 meters from the house was a pond, the water from which was very useful to the rescuers during the firefighting.
However, there were additional complications. There were items in the house that made the firefighters act especially cautiously.
"There was a gas cylinder in the building, so we acted very carefully at first. In addition, we received information that there were weapons in the house. During the firefighting, we found the gas cylinder and carried it outside – fortunately, it turned out to be completely empty. We also found weapons in a back room. All safes were carried outside," Keišs said.
The neighbor reported that the weapons belonged to the former owner of the house – he transferred the house along with the guns to his son.
"His father is a hunter. He transferred the house to his son, and he started living here. This month he practically lived here all the time. He transferred it somewhere in the fall," Modris clarified.
Modris suspects that perhaps the new owner left a lit stove or an on stove. Volunteers from Inčukalns, inspecting the fire source, came to a similar most likely conclusion.
"The central part of the house burned the most – where the stove, the old furnace, and the heating unit were located. This could be one of the reasons," Keišs pointed out.
Law enforcement agencies will find out what actually caused the fire. Meanwhile, the destroyed house will likely spend this winter under a blanket of snow. The only question is time – whether the new owner will want to restore it.
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