On May 4, a man died in the Ventspils region. His one-story house in the village of Bushnieki was completely engulfed in flames.
Neighbors called the rescuers, and during the fight with the fire, the firefighters initially had difficulty finding the bedridden resident inside the house. On Tuesday, the family of the deceased man arrived at the scene of the tragedy and the ruined house — they spoke with the program "Degpunktā" (TV3).
"There lived my mom's husband, my stepfather… He had been bedridden for two years, lying down more after the operation. He didn’t want to move and was lazy," says the deceased's adopted daughter, Sigita, with tears in her eyes.
On the fateful day, while the stepfather was in the house, his life partner was working in the yard and didn’t even notice the moment when smoke began to rise from the house — the neighbor was the first to see it. He called the firefighters.
As the neighbor told the program "Degpunktā" off-camera, the heat was unbearable, and it was impossible to approach the house. When the firefighters arrived, those around reported that there was a bedridden person inside, but the rescuers initially had difficulty finding him.
"They couldn’t find him the first time, then they did. Of course, [death] was due to asphyxiation. An examination has been conducted, we can move forward. A difficult case," says the adopted daughter.
Sigita lives with her family in Riga and arrived in Bushnieki only the day after the tragedy. Moreover, the interview for the program "Degpunktā" took place at the moment when the woman saw the burned house for the first time after the fire. According to her, the cause of the tragedy was the stepfather's bad habit, and while discussing this, Sigita saw, so to speak, a small ray of hope in the tragedy. The dog that was also in the house during the fire managed to escape.
The family was sure that the dog had also perished; however, fortunately, the animal was only a little scared. The burned house and the plot itself belong to Sigita — the woman does not yet know what to do next. First, it is necessary to clear away all possible debris and inspect what remains intact in the house; however, the main priority now is organizing the stepfather's funeral.
