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Firefighter killed by explosion in fire at Kazan’s gunpowder factory

Eduard Illarionov decided to examine the dangerous zone himself, the source elaborated

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Commander of a special firefighting and rescue team Eduard Illarionov was killed by an explosion on Friday evening while combating fire at a gunpowder factory in Kazan, the capital city of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, a source in the local emergencies services told TASS.

"Eduard Illarionov, commander of the Third Special Firefighting and Rescue team of the Federal Firefighting Service’s 35th Special Branch, was the first to arrive at the site. He ordered his team members to arrange water supplies for fighting the fire. Then he decided to examine the dangerous zone himself," the source elaborated.

According to the source, an explosion occurred while Illarionov was examining the burning building, he suffered severe injuries and died on the way to hospital.

The source also said that the commander had made a right decision that created conditions for extinguishing the fire and prevented casualties among firefighters and factory personnel. "His team played a key role in combating the fire," the emergencies services stressed.

Illarionov was 37 years old.

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