‘612 buildings have been inspected by fire safety officials in Sverdlovsk Region. Forty-nine buildings have been declared unsafe, so the businesses within will have to be closed down. Out of these forty-nine organizations, ten have already stopped operating,’ head of Sverdlovsk Region State Fire Surveillance Administration Vadim Zubarev announced at a press conference in Yekaterinburg.

‘The inspections revealed over 4,000 violations of fire safety requirements. So, 340 top executives will have to face some administrative pressure. Amazingly, only 63 out of 612 buildings (that is, 10%) have been found flawless. At the same time, another 10% of buildings is nearly dilapidated. We are now trying to make the businesses within stop operating. Over twenty buildings from the slum segment are located in Yekaterinburg,’ Zubarev added.

‘Most violations have to do with failing to ensure safe evacuation. For example, fire exits tend to be blocked or even altogether absent,’ he said.