The fire broke out around 3 a.m. in an apartment on the first floor. When the firefighters arrived, there was a lot of smoke in the stairwell.
Firefighters rescued seven people from the building, four of whom were injured and had to be hospitalized.
Two people were killed in the fire - one was found in the burning apartment and the other, a minor carried out of the building by the firefighters, was already dead.
During the firefighting operation, two firefighters were also hospitalized for further examination.
The fire was put out by 6.40 p.m.
So far this year, a total of 57 people have died in fires in Latvia. The Fire and Rescue Service emphasizes that many of these tragedies could have been averted if smoke detectors were installed in the apartments and has recently been running a concerted campaign to persuade homeowners to install and maintain them correctly.
Traģiski aizvadīta nakts - ugunsgrēkā gāja bojā divi cilvēki!
— VUGD (@ugunsdzeseji) September 18, 2019
Līdz ar to, šogad ugunsnelaimēs bojāgājuši jau 57 cilvēki, no kuriem trīs bija bērni! Lielu daļu no šīm traģēdijām varēja novērst, ja mājoklī būtu uzstādīts dūmu detektors.
Izglāb dzīvību - uzstādi dūmu detektoru❗️ pic.twitter.com/IjPA2J2Wkd