In an interview with LNT television earlier on January 3, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Unity) said that four offices of the State Police's Economic Crime Department at 89 Stabu Street were damaged in the fire. However, no materials in any criminal cases investigated by the police were damaged, he stressed.
The Interior Ministry then told LETA that the fire had started on the fourth floor of the building, where the Road Police's offices are located. The offices of the Economic Crime Department are on the fifth floor of that building, but they have not suffered much.
According to the State Police, the fire has affected work of police departments located in the building at 89 Stabu Street, which houses the Traffic Safety Department, Criminal Police, and Latvian Prison Administration's offices.
Kozlovskis told LNT that investigation was under way and that arson has not been ruled out.
The State Fire and Rescue Service was called to the scene at about 9:30 p.m. on January 2. Eight fire trucks and 32 firefighters participated in battling the blaze.
