Over 20 people evacuated after Tallinn warehouse blaze
Twenty-five people had to be evacuated in Tallinn's Kristiine district Tuesday evening after a warehouse caught fire.
Three Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) officers were taken to hospital for checks due to the effects of smoke inhalation, after attending the blaze. The evacuated building was close to the warehouse blaze.
The Emergency Response Centre was notified at 6:45 p.m. that a warehouse on Kadaka tee was ablaze, burning with open flames and large amounts of smoke were visible, a Rescue Board spokesperson said.
Rescue teams began extinguishing the fire and working to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the building.
The warehouse was reportedly an old building containing mostly refuse, debris and discarded tires, and was gutted in the conflagration.
None of the 25 evacuated were injured, and the fire was brought under control by 7.30 p.m. It was declared fully extinguished a little before 9 p.m.
Lea Bärenson, operations manager at the PPA's North Prefecture, said: "These officers were the first to arrive at the scene and quickly began organizing the evacuation from a nearby building. While working directly at the scene of the fire, they were exposed to smoke and later felt unwell and needed medical assistance. One officer was taken to hospital by ambulance and two went there on their own, and they are currently receiving the necessary care in the emergency department."
The cause of the blaze is to be determined in the course of an investigation.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
