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Firefighters called to Tver military research center 90 minutes after ignition - source

The emergencies service was informed about the blaze at 11:08 a.m. However, the fire started at 09:30, an emergencies source told TASS on Friday

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Firefighting services were informed about Thursday's blaze in the Central Research Institute of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces in Tver about an hour and a half after the fire broke out, an emergencies source told TASS on Friday.

"The emergencies service was informed about the blaze at 11:08 a.m. However, the fire started at 09:30. They tried to put it out on their own first," the source said.

In his words, at some point, a decision was made to open windows in the building. The move was intended to keep dense smoke from building up in the indoor air, but, instead, it provided a steady flow of oxygen to the fire source. This, combined with lost time, floor structure and other factors, caused the fire to spread uncontrollably. On top of that, no evacuation of personnel was ordered.

On Thursday, a blaze erupted at the Central Research Institute of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces in Tver. It engulfed an area of 2,500 square meters, spreading to almost all floors. The roof partially collapsed. High temperatures, old floors of the building and heavy smoke complicated the effort to put out the fire. The open fire has been extinguished on Thursday evening. Six people were killed and 27 sustained injuries in the blaze. According to preliminary reports, a short circuit could be the cause behind the reported incident.

The Tver military research center saw another fire due to short circuit 3 years ago, a source told TASS earlier.