Honoring the Memory: Timeline, Names of the Dead and Consequences of the Fire in Odesa

8 dead, 31 injured, 10 missing. 200 people and 40 units of equipment are involved, and the area is 2,000 square meters.

Today, Sunday, December 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a day of national mourning over the tragic fire in Odesa on December 4. Across the country, state flags were lowered and noisy celebrations and festivities were cancelled.

The fire broke out at the Odesa College of Economics, Law and Hotel and Restaurant Business on Wednesday, December 4, at around 10:12 on the 3rd floor of the six-story academic building. According to media reports, the cause of the fire may have been old wiring that had not been replaced since 1966.

Initially, 65 people and 16 units of equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire, but their number eventually rose to 200 people and 40 units of equipment. Some trolleybus routes stopped operating in Odesa. The State Emergency Service reported that the fire covered an area of 2,000 square meters.

Victims

1. Kseniia Babenko (17-year-old student, jumped from a window)
2. Anna Bortiuk (43-year-old math teacher, died while saving children)
3. Kyrylo Trofymchuk (student, managed to say goodbye to his mother)
4. Serhiy Shatokhin (rescuer, fell from a height)
5. Maryna Koval

The names of the other victims remain unknown for now. The TK Media editorial team extends its condolences to all the relatives and loved ones of the victims.

Regarding the missing, Deputy Head of the regional State Emergency Service Department Oleksandr Krytskyi said that “there is no more hope of finding survivors in the building”. According to him, “all premises that were not damaged by fire have been inspected; there are no people there”.

Government response

President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to review fire safety measures in facilities with mass gatherings and proposed studying the state of rescue units, emergency response and disaster medicine services, their provision of material and technical resources and transport, and providing for their upgrade with modern rescue and communication equipment.

Zelensky also demanded inspections at kindergartens, schools, vocational schools, higher education institutions, dormitories, healthcare and social welfare institutions, and at state facilities of critical and transport infrastructure.

Volodymyr Zelensky
President of Ukraine

I demand a tough response to any violations of fire or technogenic safety, their unconditional elimination, and the prosecution of the officials who allowed them. I also call separately on business owners, owners of shopping centers, cinemas, restaurants, hotels and so on to be socially responsible, to ensure fire safety in their facilities without waiting for state inspections. Let us be responsible and finally learn the terrible lessons for the sake of preserving the most valuable thing — the lives of Ukrainian citizens.

Zelensky asked for a report on the work done, problems and proposals by January 10, 2020.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk arrived in Odesa and found that the burned building had last been inspected five years ago — in June 2014. Honcharuk called this “completely unacceptable” and promised that all those responsible would be punished. A commission to investigate the causes of the fire has already been set up, and its results will be known by December 20.

Those responsible

Head of the National Police in Odesa Oblast Serhiy Shaikhet said that, based on the investigative actions carried out so far, notices of suspicion are being prepared for 2 persons.

According to Shaikhet, these are only preliminary results, and during the investigation “the number of suspects may grow”.