Home fires rose 18% last heating season, department says

Fires in residential buildings in Lithuania increased by 18% during the last heating season compared with the previous one, the Fire and Rescue Department (PAGD) said, LRT reported.

Some 5,300 fires broke out across the country during the cold season, killing 64 people and injuring 115, said Kęstutis Agintas, the department’s deputy director. Around 70% of those who died lived in rural areas or small towns. Most deaths occurred between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.

The average age of people killed in fires is 65, Agintas said. He listed smoking carelessly in bed, unsafe handling of fire, poor maintenance of heating appliances, faulty electrical devices and overloaded wiring among the main causes.

January 2026 was the deadliest January in two decades, with 18 people killed in fires, he said. In some cases, information from people nearby suggested that alcohol may have been consumed before a fire, which could also have contributed to the incidents.

The department urged residents to handle fire carefully, maintain heating equipment and look out for people who need help.

In June, parliament approved setting the start and end of the heating season in law. For buildings with automated heating substations, the season runs from October 1 to April 30. Heating in buildings without them began this week in municipalities across Lithuania.