The operation in the heart surgery center in Blagoveshchensk during the fire.
On Friday a fire broke out in the cardiology center in Blagoveshchensk. Patients and doctors were evacuated – all except the medical staff who were performing an operation at the time.
A fire broke out in the 1,600-square-meter Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic of the Amur State Medical Academy. The building’s roof caught fire. About 120 people were evacuated.
At that moment, on the first floor of the hospital, doctors were performing open-heart surgery, which could not be stopped. Eight doctors and one patient remained in one of the operating theaters, the mayor of Blagoveshchensk, Oleg Imameev, reported on his telegram channel.
“The open fire was quickly extinguished, there were no casualties, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. “The [heart] operation has been completed and the patient has been transferred to another clinic,” the ministry said.
The building of the Cardio Center was built in 1905-1907. It is classified as a cultural monument. According to firefighters, the fire quickly spread through the wooden roof structure.
The hospital was without power, but electricity was autonomously supplied to the operating room, where the operation was in progress, from a special vehicle.
According to the prosecutor’s office of the Amur region, the preliminary cause of the fire was violations in the operation of electrical wiring.
The governor of the region Vasily Orlov ordered to award the doctors who performed surgery in a burning cardiac center. The Cardiac Surgery Clinic of the Amur Medical Academy is the only specialized institution in the Amur region that provides cardiac surgery assistance.
“The damaged roof is included in the scope of protection, it has suffered significant damage. It is necessary to develop a restoration project. The building has long been in operational use by a cardio center. We will make every effort to help them as soon as possible,” Yekaterina Musnitskaya, the head of the regional department of cultural heritage protection, told Interfax.