Melenci Fire Near Rusanda Hospital Kills Elderly Man
Firefighters found the body of an elderly man after containing a blaze in Melenci, while the provincial health secretariat says the building is not hospital property.
One person died in a fire in Melenci, near Zrenjanin, the Zrenjanin Police Department has confirmed. The blaze broke out on Thursday, October 22, at around 4 a.m., in a building on the grounds of the Rusanda Special Hospital for Rehabilitation.
After the fire was contained, firefighters found the charred body of an elderly man. He has not been identified so far. The cause of the fire has not been established.
What is known about the response?
Thirteen firefighters with six vehicles were at the scene. Volunteer fire brigades from Melenci, Kumane and Elemir also helped. According to police and media reports, the building is privately owned.
The identity of the victim has not been released, and the authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
Who owns the building?
In a statement, the hospital said it does not use the building for medical services and that it is a residential property. It said:
The circumstances in which the fire broke out have still not been officially established
According to the hospital’s statement, the building is physically separate from the buildings the institution uses, and patients and other facilities are safe and operating normally.
The Provincial Secretariat for Health, the hospital’s founder, said the same. In its statement, it said that
The building in which the fire broke out is not owned by the Special Hospital for Rehabilitation “Rusanda”
The secretariat added that it is a residential pavilion and that a 2014 court ruling established it is not hospital property. It housed the heirs of earlier occupants, and some tenants spent decades in court over tenancy rights. All of them have moved out except the tenant of the unit where the fire started. The secretariat offered condolences to the family and loved ones and said the public would be informed in good time about the circumstances of the fire, which the competent authorities are establishing.
Fire at a gathering station the same day
The same day, at around 10:40 a.m., a tank caught fire at the Rusanda oil and gas gathering station, in the fields between Melenci and Basaid. The fire broke out during planned works and was put out. No one was injured. The company NIS did not link the incident to the fire at the building near the hospital.
The company said it will publish the causes of the fire at the station once its internal procedures are complete. It also said that
The remediation process is under way and the gathering station is expected to return to operation.
What caused the fire in Melenci and who the dead man was will be determined by the competent authorities.
