Vidzeme Firefighters Handle 20 Call-Outs Over the Weekend

The Vidzeme regional office of Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) received 20 calls between 6:30 a.m. on 23 October and 6:30 a.m. on 24 October. Ten were fire call-outs, six were rescue operations and four turned out to be false alarms. The service's summary also covers incidents up to Monday morning.

Fires

On Friday at 10:20 a.m., household items and firewood burned over 15 m² in the basement of a two-storey home in Dzērbene parish, Cēsis municipality. Four people left the building before firefighters arrived. Late on Friday evening in Naukšēni parish, Valmiera municipality, the door, wall and ceiling of a single-storey sauna burned over 6 m²; a person who got out before the service arrived was injured.

On Saturday at 5:01 a.m., an outbuilding burned over 50 m² on Lazdu Street in Madona, and the fire was put out at 7:29 a.m. The same day, an electrical switchboard, wall and ceiling burned over 3 m² in a garage in Ilzene parish, Alūksne municipality, while wood shavings burned over 1 m² on the second floor of a disused four-storey building on Apšu Street in Cēsis. In the evening, a wooden shed burned over 40 m² in Grundzāle parish, Smiltene municipality, and an unattended bonfire burned over 4 m² in Matīši parish, Valmiera municipality.

Overnight into Sunday, a shed, garage and greenhouse burned over 80 m² in Grundzāle parish. Overnight into Monday, firefighters tackled two shed fires in Valka: 10 m² on Blaumaņa Street and 20 m² on Tālavas Street.

Rescue operations

On Friday, oil had spilled on a road in Strādi parish, Gulbene municipality, and rescuers cleaned the carriageway using an absorbent. On Sunday, trees fell onto roads in Līgatne parish and on Valmieras Street in Cēsis; rescuers cut them up and cleared the roads.

Nationwide

Across Latvia, VUGD received 151 calls in this period: 38 for fires, including one forest fire, 70 for rescue work and 43 false alarms.