Residents wait for repairs after apartment building fire

Residents of a five-storey apartment building have been waiting for repairs for two months after a fire damaged its attic, LSM reports. The residents were evacuated and no one was injured, but restoration work has not yet begun.

The fire seriously damaged the roof structures and attic insulation. The building manager, Rēzeknes namsaimnieks, has assessed the damage to the attics above two stairwells, but it remains unclear when repairs can start and who will pay for them.

“The losses already include the cost of dealing with the consequences of the fire, which is more than 1,000 euros, as well as restoring the apartment to its previous condition, including installing insulation and repairing the wooden structures. We also submitted all this information to the State Police, asking them, on behalf of the apartment owners, to initiate criminal proceedings. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, we have not received a decision from the police,” said Juna Konstantinova, a board member of Rēzeknes namsaimnieks.

Preliminary estimates put the repair costs at at least 7,000 euros. The State Police said that criminal proceedings had been initiated and that this was not an obstacle to restoration work.

“A pre-trial investigation is currently under way. Further repair work depends directly on the company that carried out work at the site. The State Police did not issue any instructions to stop or not continue the work,” said Guntars Kračus, head of the Investigation Division at the North Latgale precinct of the State Police Latgale Regional Board.

Residents are concerned not only about the delayed restoration but also about the cause of the fire and who will be held responsible for the damage. The building has reserve funds, but they were intended for other purposes.

Residents suspect that the fire could be connected to telecommunications infrastructure and hope compensation will be recovered from the party responsible.

“We can only speculate because no one has confirmed this to us, but the residents lost their internet the evening before. Of course, we do not want to pay for something we are not responsible for. The attic was closed off, we do not go there or dry laundry there. The room is inaccessible, and there is no electricity there,” said Natālija, the building’s representative.

The attic contains infrastructure belonging to Bite Latvija.