The prosecutor on Wednesday decided to initiate a public criminal prosecution against Captain Y. H., the engineering service officer of a military unit, at a platoon accommodation of which fire had broken out, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia.

Facts have been obtained according to which, on January 19, around 12:40am, Y. H., being the person in charge of the seating area, violated the requirement established by the law on handling of automotive gasoline, according to which, it is prohibited—for fire safety reasons—to use automotive gasoline and other flammable liquids to light stoves.

1. H., in order to light the stove operated in the accommodation of the engineering-sapper platoon of the military unit located in Azat village of Gegharkunik Province, having ascertained—from the duty officer of the day—the location of the diesel fuel and gasoline allocated to that unit, took a 5-liter container of automotive gasoline, returned to the accommodation, and lit the stove with automotive gasoline. As a result, a fire broke out in the accommodation.

Due to the lack of adequate fire safety measures at this accommodation, not only was it not possible for the servicemen in the accommodation to extinguish the fire, but also, in the absence of a backup exit, to break the iron bars attached to the windows of the accommodation and get out.

As a result, 15 conscripts of this platoon who were resting in the accommodation died, and this officer and four conscripts sustained various degrees of physical injuries.