Devastating fires at the beginning of the year have caused losses for half a million euros
Devastating fires at the beginning of the year have caused losses for half a million euros
The passing winter has been a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of a candle flame left unattended or self-ignition of a battery of a toy. Accidents have left a number of families without a shelter, and BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (BTA) has paid nearly half a million euros to handle their consequences.
The ancient tradition to light up candles in the Christmas tree has turned into a tragedy for a family in Ikšķile municipality. The flame caught branches of the already dried tree and very soon the entire fir-tree was in flames, which then spread to furniture and burnt a large part of walls, floor and ceiling, rendering the dwelling uninhabitable.
Sad was the beginning of the year was also for a family in Jelgava municipality. Most likely, the cause of the fire was self-ignition of a battery of a toy in a bedroom and flames from it spread throughout the home, resulting in damages to the entire property.
The second floor of a two-storey building in Lielvārde municipality was completely devoured by fire in front of its owners’ eyes. There had been a power outage, soon followed by a fire. Meanwhile in Riga, two persons had to take a leap from the third-floor window to escape the flames of the burning house. Although six firefighting teams had rushed to the accident site, the building has sustained massive damage and probably will face demolition.
“All the accounted cases are clear evidence that large fire disasters can happen absolutely unexpected. None of the victims had expected that things they had been doing for years, such as burning the fireplace or candles can turn into a tragedy in one day. Not to speak of wiring damages or self-ignition of toys, as the majority cannot even fancy such a scenario. The sole consolation to all these fire victims is that their property was insured and repairs or purchase of a new home will be facilitated by indemnity paid by insurers,” BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department Director Kārlis Liepiņš urges not to try one’s luck, rather relying upon property insurance. Building restoration costs after a fire are that high that the majority of families would be unable to cover without the disbursed indemnity.
The State Fire and Rescue Service’s statistics also warns about frequency of fires. Fires have been registered in a total of 1957 residential houses, 140 public buildings and 122 production buildings in Latvia in 2020.
About BTA
BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1,000 employees in the Baltics. The largest shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with close to 200 years of experience in the insurance business. With about 50 companies in 30 countries and more than 25,000 employees, Vienna Insurance Group is a clear market leader in its Central and Eastern European markets, and takes care of more than 22 million customers. Vienna Insurance Group is the best-rated company of ATX, the leading index of Vienna Stock Exchange (since 1994) with a rating of A+ with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s; its share is also listed on the Prague Stock Exchange. Vienna Insurance Group works in close partnership with Erste Group – the largest retail bank in CEE.
Additional information:
Elīna Rasmane
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail elina.rasmane@bta.lv