The Director of the Fire Service in Elbasan, Emirjon Sota, has provided details on the difficult search, rescue and evacuation operation after the powerful explosion of a gas cylinder in the building in the "Qemal Stafa" neighborhood, where two people lost their lives. According to him, the intervention with a ladder was crucial in extracting the residents from the upper floors, while the two victims were found under the rubble and had died from the explosion.
The Director of the Elbasan Fire Service, Emirjon Sota, has explained to the media the dynamics of the intervention of the fire brigade after the serious tragedy that shook the city, where the explosion of a gas cylinder caused the destruction of part of the building and took the lives of two residents. According to Sota, the notification of the event reached the fire department's operations room at around 14:30. Immediately after the alarm, fire engines and ladder trucks were sent to the scene to deal with the emergency situation. Upon arrival at the building, the firefighters found that the fire had spread to the third and fourth floors. Due to the scale of the event and the difficulties created by the explosion, the support of fire brigades from other municipalities was also requested.
The State Police structures were also involved in the operation, which established a security perimeter, while the evacuation of residents and the intervention to neutralize the fires continued. Sota announced that several children and elderly people were rescued and evacuated during the operation. The intervention was carried out from both sides of the building, while the escalator was used to evacuate residents who were on the upper floors, as the internal stairs of the building were severely damaged.
"A ladder truck was used from the front, from the ring road. All the people who were on the upper floors, on the fourth and fifth floors, were transported," declared the fire department director. Focusing on the importance of specialized vehicles in this operation, Sota emphasized that the lack of a ladder truck could have significantly worsened the tragedy.
“Given the type of fire, the powerful explosion, and the blocking of the entrance to the building, the consequences would probably have been more catastrophic,” he said. One of Sota’s most important statements was related to the cause of death of the two people found in the ruins of the building. According to him, the victims did not die as a result of the fire, but directly from the force of the explosion. “The two bodies of the victims that were found inside the building were found under the rubble and died from the explosion, not from the fire,” Sota explained. Asked about the technical capacities of the Fire Service in Elbasan, after discussions on the equipment and means available, the director announced that the municipality has a total of eight vehicles: six fire engines with centrifugal pumps, one fire truck and one ladder truck.
Sota defended the work of the officers who were involved in the difficult operation, appreciating their sacrifice and dedication in an effort to save the lives of the residents. "The Municipality of Elbasan has all the means for such situations. We cannot dismiss the work of all those employees who sacrificed their lives to save the lives of others. I believe that they accomplished the mission," concluded the director of the Fire Service. The tragedy in Elbasan continues to remain in the spotlight, while the authorities are working to fully document the event, determine the structural damage and assess the safety of the building after the devastating explosion.
