Deadly Moscow Gas Pipeline Fire Forces Dormitory Evacuation

A fire broke out Thursday at a gas pipeline near a thermal power plant on the outskirts of Moscow, killing one person and injuring 13 others.

A force of over 150 firefighters battled for hours to contain the massive blaze, which covered over ten thousand square feet and threatened to spread to nearby buildings, one of them a dormitory that had to be evacuated.

“The fire at a high-pressure gas pipeline has been put out. The firefighting operation is underway at a transformer station and at certain hotbeds of fire, and a foam attack is being prepared. There is no threat to the residents of the Moscow Region and the environment,” Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Ilya Denisov told reporters after the fire was under control.

Another Russian official said the fire erupted after a high-pressure gas pipeline broke. The raging gas fire was an alarming sight from nearby roads:

Russian EMERCOM confirms fire at TEC-27 power plant in Moscow region, fire at "high pressure station". Newest power plant of Mosenergo, supplying power to customers of North and North-East districts of Moscow https://t.co/wuZOoZO40s #Russia pic.twitter.com/82uPlc0sUT

— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) July 11, 2019

The fire reportedly damaged a high-pressure gas station, technical facilities, and an administration building at the Severnaya thermal power plant. Power company Mosenergo said power to the Moscow area serviced by the plant was not interrupted.