Criminal case opened in Narva after woman dies in care home fire
Police have opened a criminal case after a 71-year-old woman died in a fire at a care home in Narva. Careless smoking is the preliminary suspected cause.
Police in Estonia have launched a criminal investigation after a 71-year-old woman died in a fire at a care home on Raku Lane in Narva. The case is being handled under the offence of causing death by negligence, the Eastern Prefecture said on Wednesday.
The fire broke out in a smoking room on the evening of 6 October. The alert reached the duty officer at the Emergency Response Centre at 20:51.
At the scene
Rescuers who arrived found smoke on the second floor and the body of the woman. There was no open flame by the time they got there, as staff at the facility had already put out the small fire themselves using a fire extinguisher.
Possible cause
Preliminarily, the fire may have been caused by careless smoking. Other residents of the care home were not hurt: smoke did not spread to other rooms thanks to fire compartments and closed fire doors.
The exact circumstances of the woman's death and the cause of the fire will be established in the course of the criminal proceedings.
