18-y-o girl, cat die in house fire in SW Estonia

TALLINN – An 18-year-old girl and a cat died in a house fire in the southwestern Estonian town of Kilingi-Nomme early on Monday morning.

The alarm center received a call at 4:19 a.m. that a two-story building with people inside was on fire on Kantsi Street in Kilingi-Nomme, spokespeople for the Rescue Board said.

When the rescuers arrived, the second floor of the house was burning with an open flame, which the rescuers started extinguishing immediately. Nine residents were able to get out of the house by themselves. All victims were examined by the ambulance, none required medical attention. During smoke diving on the second floor, the rescuers found the body of an 18-year-old girl.

Rescuers got the fire under control by 5:10 a.m. During additional extinguishing work, they also found a dead cat in the building. By 8:38 a.m., the fire had been extinguished. Professional rescuers from Kilingi-Nomme, Parnu, Haademeeste and Abja as well as volunteer rescuers from Tali were involved in the rescue work.

The cause of the fire is being clarified. According to the preliminary information, there was no smoke detector in the house, nor had home counseling regarding fire safety been carried out there.

Altogether 31 people have died in fire accidents so far this year.