MChS employees identified 170 abandoned houses during a raid in Vitebsk

September 10, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations identified 170 derelict houses during a raid in Vitebsk, press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Marina Fando told a BELTA correspondent. The need for the raid is due to the increased number of fires at such facilities. Thus, two such emergencies occurred in the regional center last week. In the first house, the owner was absent due to being in prison, the owner of the second had died. In both cases, the derelict houses became a shelter for homeless people. Smoking while intoxicated, plus the use of faulty stoves by uninvited guests, caused the fires. In total, 10 fires in derelict houses have already occurred in the Vitebsk region this year. With the onset of cold weather, Ministry of Emergency Situations employees predict an increase in such emergencies. As noted by Deputy Head of the City Economy Department of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee Alexander Mamaev, the identification and accounting of derelict houses in the regional center are carried out by the housing and communal services and landscaping departments of the district administrations. Such a structure can be demolished only after several years, after confirmation that the house is indeed abandoned, and only by a court decision. Such work is being carried out. -0-