An emergency occurred in Ararat Province on October 18. At around 19:30, a call was received by the 112 operational management center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reporting that a fire had broken out in Artashat city on Mamushyan Street, next to a printing house, inside an unused building that formerly served as a regional cooperative warehouse.
Two combat crews from the Artashat fire-rescue squad of the Ararat Provincial Rescue Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rescue Service arrived at the scene, led by Karen Avetisyan, head of the provincial rescue department.
With great difficulty, the firefighters first prevented the spread of the fire and then extinguished it. According to preliminary information, fortunately, there are no casualties.
Documents are being processed at the Artashat police division regarding the incident, and the circumstances are being established.
Although this incident fortunately caused no casualties, it highlights something that often goes unnoticed: unused buildings within cities pose a real risk, and not only in terms of fires. In the Artashat case, the fire was visible from hundreds of meters away, which means the danger was close to residential and working areas.
It is noteworthy that the fire broke out next to a printing house, and preventing its spread required the intensive work of two combat crews. This raises the question of how well such abandoned warehouse spaces are monitored and whether basic fire safety requirements are observed in them.
In the coming days, it is worth following the investigation by the Artashat police division: determining the cause of the fire could answer the question of whether this was an accident or a problem with the potential to recur in other buildings as well.
