The more technology in our lives, the higher the risk of accidents if you do not follow the rules for handling it. One of them occurred in the capital of Russia 15 years ago. They talked a lot about this then. There was not only great material damage, but people died.
Fire broke out
At a 460-meter height, a fire broke out in the Ostankino tower. He was continuously fought with him for 2 days. This is nothing but the largest man-made disaster in Russia.
In 2000, this misfortune happened. It was August, the 27th, Sunday. Time is about three in the afternoon. And suddenly smoke fell from the windows, then a flame appeared.
Immediately the broadcast of most of the Russian channels to Moscow and the region was stopped. So fans of NTV and ORT, "Culture", TV-6 and others could not watch their favorite shows. The Echo of Moscow radio station was silent too.
After 600 seconds
The clock showed eight minutes after four, when the shift on duty suddenly heard how the alarm went off, announcing the flame. And after a couple of minutes, a message about a fire in the Ostankino tower came to the dispatching service 01.
And after 10 minutes the Ostankino tower, whose address is Koroleva, 15, was surrounded by a little more than 40 cars. There were firefighters, rescue professionals, and ambulance doctors.
Specialists determined that the flame covered 10 square meters of area.
First victims
The rumor that the Ostankino tower was on fire scattered across the capital very quickly. Everyone who was inside her, in the premises of the studios, equipment rooms, and visitors to the Seventh Heaven restaurant, was urgently evacuated. But how? The elevators are off. Everyone had to go down the stairs. And this can not be done so quickly. After all, the height of the Ostankino tower in meters is 540.
As the capital’s fire service officials later told reporters, there could have been many casualties in that situation and in such a difficult fire. Just resting in the famous restaurant "Seventh Heaven", as well as tourists walking around the observation deck, were safe and sound only because they quickly, without a moment's delay, began to be taken out into the street. And among the firefighters, by the way, there would also be many victims, if they had not shown great professionalism. After all, they had to work in difficult conditions. The corridors are extremely narrow. And a lot of temperature. Moreover, all metal constructions and various objects became very heated. Experienced experts said that such a non-standard flame has not been anywhere, in any country.
At 16.30 hours, as reported by RIA Novosti, with reference to workers from the fire department of the capital, there were no injuries. But the fire on the Ostankino tower was just beginning. The dead, alas, and other victims will appear later.
The seat of trouble was actually very high. So easy not to get there. Then the commander of the team of firefighters who arrived at the scene of the accident, Colonel Arsyukov Vladimir, decided to go up (by high-speed elevator) and see what was going on there. However, the lift crashed down. It flew about 300 m. Not only this fireman was killed in it, but also the girl - lifter Loseva Sveta. She volunteered to escort the lift to the scene of the fire. Shepitsyn Alexander also died with them. He worked as a repairman.
And later several people were taken to the hospital. They had burns and gas poisoning.
The ambulances that came here, having learned that the Ostankino tower was on fire, quickly took them away, having first provided the necessary first aid on the spot. Also arrived and the Ministry of Emergencies. The fire in the Ostankino tower is a serious matter!
Wild heat
The source of the incident, as some thought at that time, was the wiring closure. This is where the amplifiers of the transmitting devices are located (for paging communication). Others said that this happened due to the explosion of the antenna. Whatever it was, but after the fire of the cable flashed and television transmitters. So the fire began in the Ostankino tower (2000)? Rescuers quickly got to work. Extinguished the flame with carbon dioxide fire extinguishers.
The fire spread so that the heat rose. Up to 1000 degrees. Because of it, 120 cables (out of 149) broke. But they provided the so-called prestressing of the entire concrete structure of this unique and very large tower. In that situation, she could easily collapse.
Yes, the Ostankino tower was almost all on fire. But resisted. Contrary to bad forecasts.
Specialists who arrived at the scene of the incident where the Ostankino tower is located (address: Koroleva St., house 15) noted very violent burning of all feeders. This is an electric circuit and auxiliary devices that lead the energy of the radio signal from the antenna to the radio receivers. In addition, they have such easily lit up shells of polyethylene that drops of molten synthetics from a large frying pan simply fell down. And everywhere they created secondary foci of fire.
Fiery rain
No wonder that with this incredibly great heat, the feeders themselves were destroyed. Their pieces also flew down.
The efforts of firefighters to erect some obstacles in their path (for example, with the same asbestos cloths) did not give anything. Because different tower designs with their protruding corners made gaps in these canvases. And through them easily flew both parts of cables and molten pieces. This is a terrible sight. Three floors completely burned out.
But people acted quickly. Only half an hour passed, when they received a distress signal, and already created a group that began to extinguish the flame and carry out other emergency measures.
Chronicle of the struggle
By five o'clock a lot of cables - about 25 meters - were completely burned out. A couple more hours passed - and three elevators fell. From a height of 460 meters! Just in one went those people about whom we wrote above.
By nine in the evening the outer cables burst, broke. And all from this wild temperature. Night was approaching, and the fire descended even lower. At the 200 meter level.
There was complete darkness. The fire in the Ostankino tower in 2000 did not abate. They continued to fight with him stubbornly.
By two o'clock, late at night, already on August 28, almost all power cables were empty. And there were thousands of them inside the Ostankino tower! Another thirty minutes passed, and the treacherous fire crawled to an incredibly low point - up to 120 meters.
In the morning, at half-past four, it was possible by some miracle to stop this rapid creep of the flame. At 12.30 the joyful news spread: a fire was localized! But in less than half an hour, as at 247 meters, people again saw puffs of smoke.
Upstairs
It was impossible to penetrate that part of the tower, which was called the antenna. Such were her design features. And also very dense smoke and an incredibly high temperature interfered.
What to do, considering that the height of the Ostankino tower in meters is very decent?
Brave rescuers had no choice but to climb the very narrow and vertical stairs from a height of 381 meters to the 420th. And this is without any respiratory protection. In the same way, firefighters dragged up portable fire extinguishers and installations, but already stationary (with carbon dioxide). Otherwise, it was impossible to strangle the flame.
And only at the end of the second day (after the message that the Ostankino tower was on fire) was it reported that this dangerous conflagration had finally been eliminated.
There was no terrorist attack
The Moscow prosecutor’s office, of course, opened a criminal case. Indeed, there was either damage to property (albeit through negligence), or its deliberate destruction.
But this is not a terrorist act, as the FSB agents announced.
Later it turned out that the fire in the Ostankino tower was caused by an elementary violation of the rules that must be observed to prevent all kinds of fires. It was this that led to the occurrence of a short circuit. Then the cables caught fire. And the fire spread very quickly throughout the structure.
Moreover, the investigators established: during the time when the Ostankino tower in Moscow was being designed (in 1962), they allowed some deviations from the norm. In particular, in order to deliver elevators. And as a result of the conflagration (2000), 29 of all 150 cables were stretched. All elevators, power supply and ventilation were damaged. Disrupted the supply of water, heat, alarm, communication.
All week there were no programs on the main channels. Broadcast only TNT. At its frequencies, NTV news broadcasts were temporarily shown.
But then came September 2000. And on the fourth day, all hitherto silent studios earned.
Back to life
Several recovery options were offered at once. We settled on one thing, however, it was the longest - on a complete reconstruction of the tower. And already in 2002 we finished everything that had to be done. This multi-meter beauty was strengthened reliably. Installed brand new fillers, already from non-combustible materials. Plus - jumpers (fire). The entire tower was technically modernized.
Brand new high-speed elevators (from Germany) ran perfectly. High temperature? And she is nothing. And with all this, the likelihood that the lifts will fall is small. Even with a significant fire.
Guilty … kettle
However, this is not all. A new fire broke out in the Ostankino tower. The year 2013 turned out to be unlucky for her. Smoke appeared from one office on the 8th floor. And then the fire. True, this time the fire area was only two square meters.
Smoke came from the electric kettle. Most likely, water boiled in it, it overheated and caught fire. However, ten fire engines were called. And tourists who looked at the city from the observation deck were immediately evacuated.
Half an hour passed, and there was no danger.
After the fire in 2000, the ORT and RTR studios created a common television channel. It showed the programs of both editions, which the audience “lost” due to the accident. Mostly, there were popular television series and news reports.
Other studios also merged. For example, NTV and "Culture".
