A dog saved Tomislav's life in a fire: Harrowing account from a resident of the Kragujevac tower block where two women died last night

“I was asleep because I work the night shift. My dog woke me up, barking loudly. Smoke had already started coming into the flat. When I came to my senses I saw that the flat next to mine was on fire,” Tomislav Račić tells Nova.rs, having only later realised that his dog had saved his life. In the fire on the 11th floor of the tower block at 9 Lepenički Boulevard, two women lost their lives and one person was seriously injured.

The fire in the high-rise building in the very centre of Kragujevac broke out last night shortly before 9 pm, in a flat on the 11th floor.

Sadly, two female residents died, while a man (53), also a resident of that flat, was evacuated and taken to the University Clinical Centre in Kragujevac.

According to Aleksandar Simović, the leader of the rescue operation and shift commander at the Fire and Rescue Unit, firefighters found the fire in a fully developed stage. The firefighting operation itself took around 15 minutes, but according to Simović the blaze was so large that the 60 square metre flat burned out completely.

The tragic outcome is two victims. According to residents who know the family, those who died in the fire were the bedridden mother of the evacuated man and his girlfriend.

Tomislav Račić, a resident of the 11th floor, tells Nova.rs that the fire was “two metres away from him” and that he only later became aware that his dog had saved his life.

“I didn't hear anything, I was asleep because I work the night shift. My dog woke me up, barking loudly. Smoke had already started coming into the flat. When I came to my senses I saw that the flat next to mine was on fire. I looked out of the window and two metres away from me there was literally an inferno. There were already people in the corridor and smoke was pouring out of the flat. It was so thick that you couldn't have stood it for even 10 seconds,” says Tomislav.

He adds that he was unable to leave his flat and that, following the firefighters' instructions, he stayed inside for the whole duration of the firefighting operation.

“The firefighters arrived quickly. They banged on my door and told me not to come out and to stay in the flat. Smoke was coming in through the closed door. I had to open the window. When I looked outside, I saw that the blaze was two windows away from me. Honestly, I was frightened. The flat next to mine is burning, and I'm not allowed to leave, not allowed to do anything. Luckily, the firefighters managed to put out the fire quickly, so I breathed a sigh of relief,” he recounts.

Tomislav says that he was deeply affected by the tragedy that befell his next-door neighbours. He does not want to speculate about the cause of the fire, but he confirmed to us that the mother and son lived in modest conditions and that, as he put it, their electricity had been cut off because of unpaid bills.

The cause of the fire is still unknown

The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Kragujevac confirmed to Nova.rs that two charred female bodies were recovered from the flat where the fire broke out and that the prosecutor's office has ordered an autopsy. They added that conditions last night did not allow an on-site investigation, so specialist fire investigators have been carrying out the inspection since this morning, and the investigation will determine what caused the fire.

The Fire and Rescue Unit took part in last night's operation with seven vehicles and 20 firefighters and rescuers.

The fire was fought both from outside and from inside, with a specialised vehicle with an aerial platform deployed for the external attack.

Aleksandar Simović, the operation leader and shift commander of the Fire and Rescue Unit, said that the firefighters arrived within two minutes, but that the fire, already fully developed, had engulfed the entire flat. Residents from the floors above the flat where the fire broke out were evacuated.

Simović also pointed out that the fire was extinguished within 15 minutes, that is, at around 9 pm.

The residents of tower block number nine on Lepenički Boulevard stood in front of their building while the fire was being put out, and at around 11 pm the firefighters allowed them to return to their flats. The Mayor of Kragujevac, Nikola Dašić, was also at the scene of this tragic event last night, and said that the city would provide temporary accommodation for everyone who needed it.

Source: Nova.rs