Three months ago, on January 2, the Tornakalns area in Riga was shaken by an explosion, writes Latvijas Avīze.
The tragedy occurred in an apartment building at 15 Bauskas Street. The explosion was caused by the actions of a man living in an apartment on the fifth floor of this building. He attempted to illegally connect to the gas pipeline.
On that day, two people died - the tenant himself and an employee of the emergency service of the gas supply company "Gaso," who had arrived at the building for a call at that moment. Immediately after the explosion, all residents of the building were evacuated.
The building damaged by the explosion now resembles a time capsule: in some apartments, windows remain open, and in one of the loggias, a decorated Christmas tree and other items are still visible. Shards of glass and other debris from the explosion are scattered around the house. Currently, the building is surrounded by a fence indicating that access is prohibited.
Preparations are underway for the installation of structures for safe entry into the building. Residents have left all their belongings there, which they still cannot retrieve. After the installation of the safe entry structures, construction specialists and police will be the first to enter to assess the danger and continue evaluating the damage to the building.
"We waited to see what happened, and we don’t know what’s there now," said the building manager Andris Vikse.
In early February, based on the conclusion of a certified construction expert, the building affected by the explosion was deemed technically restorable. Vikse added that opinions about the fate of the building vary, and consensus should not be expected. The conclusion of the construction expert did not surprise him - after all, technically anything can be restored.
"The question is about price and time. And willingness. I never thought for a second that it should be demolished - and that’s it. We can’t afford that. Many cannot - simply pay for demolition and be left with nothing," Vikse said about the possible fate of the building.
The head of the Latvian Builders Association and director of the Riga Construction College Normunds Grinbergs is confident that the conclusion of the construction expert regarding the building's restorability can be trusted.
"The shock wave went up and one floor down, of course. But below that - apparently not. If something needs to be restored, it is this local explosion site. The rest of the building has not sustained any damage," Grinbergs believes.
However, he criticizes the fact that the damage site was not isolated from the weather's influence.
