The Interior Ministry’s official website reported on February 13 that 1,262 fires were registered in Tajikistan in 2022, 66 cases more compared to the previous year (1,196 fires were registered in the country in 2021).
Nineteen people were killed in fires in 2022, nine people more than in 2021 (10 people were killed in fires in 2021).
Damage caused by last year’s fires was estimated 58.71 million somonis and property worth 806.356 million somonis was saved from fires in 2022, according to the Interior Ministry’s official website.
The Interior Ministry does not indicate the causes of last year’s fires and what is the reason for the increase in the number of fires in the country. Также МВД не указывает причину возгораний и с чем связано увеличение числа пожаров в стране.
Last year, the largest fire was reported in the city of Bokhtar, the capital of southern Khatlon province. Fire broke out at the central market “Farovon” in Bokhtar on the night of June 1. A source within the Khatlon fire department said the signal about the fire was received by the duty officer at 10:22 pm. According to him, more than twenty fire-fighting crews were sent to the fire scene.
Twelve people were injured and one of them — a 52-year-old entrepreneur Mahmad Safarov — was in critical condition. He was badly burned in the fire, suffering burns on 90 percent of his body. Safarov was admitted to the regional central hospital, where he died of sustained burn injuries. Nine other persons, who were injured in the fire, were also taken to the hospital; eight of them were allowed to go home after receiving first aid.
A special commission was set up to investigate the cause of the fire and assess the actual damage caused to the market by the fire. The damage was estimated at 3.2 million somonis.
It is to be noted that many cases of fires have been reported in various regions in recent years. The authorities have said that some of the fires were caused by non-compliance with fire safety. Meanwhile, merchants said that it could not be ruled out that in some cases arson was to blame for fires.
