A major fire occurred in Imanta: one injured person hospitalized

Photo: скриншот видео TV3

On Tuesday, active firefighting operations were underway in Imanta. Rescuers battled the flames engulfing the building, which houses both apartments and several businesses.

One of the people in the building sustained burns and was taken to the hospital, reports the Degpunktā program (TV3).

A thick column of smoke rose above the yellow building, which was noticed by both nearby residents and those in more distant areas. Upon getting closer, it was possible to see that the interior rooms were engulfed in flames. Residents of neighboring houses watched the events from a safe distance. They heard that there had been a gas explosion.

The fire, covering an area of 130 square meters, was extinguished by several fire crews. Fire crew commander Aigars Daksha reported that five people evacuated from the building before the emergency services arrived — one of them was injured and hospitalized.

The injured person sustained burns, and after receiving first aid, medics transported him to the hospital. People gathered in the courtyard of the building, concerned about an uncertain future. Several businesses operated in the building, the premises of which are now at least temporarily unfit for use.

"The boiler room caught fire on the other side of the house, and the fire spread to the roof. I rent a sewing workshop here, and the girls have a hair salon, and we all got flooded with water. Now I don’t know how we will work. Everything is underwater, I tried to go in, but they pushed me out, I ran out in slippers. The ceilings are collapsing, there will be no electricity, and the water is up to my ankles," said a woman working in the affected building.

Since the start of the fire, staff have been calling clients to cancel appointments for that day: "(DP: Do you know why this happened?) I think the boiler overheated, maybe there was a rupture or something like that, which caused the fire to spread upwards. (DP: Did it happen quickly?) Yes, in 15 minutes. I arrived at work — everything was fine. I started working, and they asked me to vacate the premises, I didn’t manage to take anything out. Everything is flooded."

Some items from the hair salon staff were managed to be taken outside, but this will not be enough to resume full operations in the near future.