Bergholcs: Tvaika Street Fire Exposed Gaps in Riga's Civil Protection

Edgars Bergholcs, chair of the Riga City Council's Urban Development Committee, has stated that the fire on 2 November at Tvaika Street 4 in the Sarkandaugava district exposed several shortcomings in the municipality's civil protection and crisis management system. In his view, these issues have not been adequately addressed so far and need urgent attention so that similar cases in Riga can be handled faster.

The fire damaged a production building covering 2,250 square meters. Because of the hazardous situation, traffic in the area was temporarily restricted.

A closed transit street

Bergholcs notes that the transit street leading to the port stayed closed for about a week. During that time, bureaucratic formalities were completed so that a technical assessment of the wall could be carried out and a decision made on what to do with it. He argues that a clear action algorithm is needed for cases where an incident affects major traffic arteries.

The politician believes a procedure should also be set out for quickly changing and maintaining traffic flow in emergencies, for organising detours, and for determining who is responsible for these solutions and who covers the related costs.

The municipality's options

The second shortcoming, according to Bergholcs, is the municipality's limited ability to act quickly. He says he will ask the institutions responsible for civil protection to review what happened, explain their actions and responsibilities, and clarify response times. He believes the municipality should be able to make swift decisions and carry out necessary work without waiting for formally approved documents or action by the owner.

Bergholcs stresses that in a crisis there must be no uncertainty about what to do next, because responsibilities, powers and the order of actions should be defined in advance. He sees the Tvaika Street case as an opportunity to learn and to strengthen Riga's readiness for crises.