Shelter with 100 cats burns down in Odesa region

The Yosia cat shelter in Izmail, Odesa Oblast, was damaged on July 7 as a result of a fire that started at a nearby landfill, spread to residential buildings and reached the shelter.

According to the owner of the shelter, volunteer Alice Adams, all the cats are alive.

She also said that there are still several hot spots in the quarry where the fire started.

"I started taking the cats out in a panic. Cages, carriers - I didn't know what to grab. I took the cats, ran outside and shouted "Help!" I quickly gathered buckets of water - they burned. I brought these buckets here - they burned. They ask me if there is anyone alive in the house, and I say: "Cats, please save my cats". In addition to my shelter, people's houses are burning here. It's just a natural disaster here, the wind is strong, everything is dry, and the fire just instantly destroys everything," she told Suspilne correspondents on July 7.

Rescuers have now localized the fire.

According to the Izmail district military administration, due to hot weather without precipitation and strong gusty winds, an extremely high level of fire danger has been established in the Izmail district, which has already caused several fires on the territory of different communities (Izmail, Safianivka and others) on July 7 this year - victims have been reported.

"The fires (including in Izmail, Broska village and near Stara Nekrasivka village) were localized and extinguished by the State Emergency Service in Odesa region, the National Guard of Ukraine, utility companies and local fire brigades," the RVA said.

Earlier, on July 6, at 16.10, the fire platoon of the military unit 3058 of the Southern Military District of the National Guard of Ukraine received an urgent request from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa Oblast to help extinguish the fire between the city of Izmail and the village of Stara Nekrasivka of the Safianivka community. A dry grass fire broke out in an open area. Due to the hot weather and gusty winds, the fire quickly covered 2.5 hectares. It took two hours to extinguish the fire.

Кирило Бойко