Major blaze affects over 200 flats in Zabki near Warsaw - fire brigade
The extensive fire that started in the town of Zabki, located on the outskirts of Warsaw and affected over 500 residents across 211 flats on Thursday evening, had been mostly contained by firefighters, the commander-in-chief of the State Fire Service said early on Friday.
After 7pm, the attic in one of the residential buildings in Powstancow Street in Zabki caught fire which spread to two other blocks of flats.
According to Wojciech Kruczek, firefighters managed to bring the fire under control on the night of Thursday to Friday.
Kruczek reported that at that time, there were only three individuals with minor injuries; however, they did not require hospitalisation and received care from medics present at the location.
Three first responders, including two firefighters also sustained injuries during the operation.
According to Kruczek, the fire consumed the entire roof of one building and all of the flats of its fourth floor. He added that the other flats in the building would also probably be damaged either due to the fire or flooding after the fire brigade operations.
Mariusz Frankowski, the governor of Mazowieckie province, said that financial aid would be provided to those affected by the fire. The sum available for each household is PLN 8,000 (EUR 1,884). He added that "if necessary, governmental aid will be provided."
Around 60 fire brigades, which equates to around 250 firefighters, took part in the operation. Police were also present on the scene.
Zabki residents living nearby were instructed to stay at home. Roughly after three hours from the information about the fire was issued, the local community created a support group on Facebook, already holding 4,000 members, where they offer help, accommodation and pet sitting to those affected.
All of the circumstances of the fire will be carefully studied, said Adam Szlapka, government spokesperson. At the same time, he appealed to the people to not surrender to any misinformation that may arise about the potential cause of the fire.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski was on Friday asked by private broadcaster TVN 24 about financial aid for the victims of the fire. "We will of course be in contact with the interior ministry and appropriate services. Financial support will for sure be provided within the state budget," he said. "In Poland, there are always resources to help those affected by tragedy."
Later in the day, Szlapka announced the involvement of the government.
"Prime Minister (Donald Tusk - PAP) decided to activate special measures in this case," he said. "Concrete information about the form of the aid will be announced after the damage has been assessed."
He added that Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak and the head of the Prime Minister's Office, Jan Grabiec, would visit the scene of the tragedy. He said that the government was also in contact with the mayor of Zabki, who is responsible for receiving the applications for the PLN 8,000 initial aid.
The fire is under investigation by the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw-Praga. At a press conference held on Friday afternoon, Siemoniak said that Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) was also looking into the matter. (PAP)
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