Yesterday (21 February) was declared a day of national mourning in Estonia as a fire that swept through a home for disabled children left eight children and two adults dead.
Haapsalu orphanage caught alight over the weekend with nine adults and 37 children inside. It took two hours to bring the fire at the single storey wooden building under control.
According to news reports, the fire started at 2:30 pm and by the time rescue workers and firefighters arrived at the scene “three or four minutes later”, the building was completely in flames.
Many of the children inside the building were wheelchair-bound and had to be rescued through windows.
Social affairs minister Hanno Pevkur told local news that fire safety and alarm systems at the home had been checked only last month.
Lars Nexe, who led the building of orphanage in 1996, told the Washington Times the construction material was shipped from Sweden and that the building met Swedish safety standards.
It is not yet known what caused the fire.
So extraordinary was the incident, a special session of government was called on Monday, where the ministers of interior and social affairs were expected to report on the details.
