Latvian fire rescue teams handle over 200 emergencies across Riga and Vidzeme

During three consecutive nights from 17 July to 21 July, Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) answered a total of 206 emergency calls: 54 for fire fighting, 94 for rescue operations and the remainder were false alarms. In Riga, firefighters tackled a blaze in a nine‑storey apartment block, rescuing 16 people and two dogs with ladders, and later extinguished a smaller fire on another floor. In the Vidzeme region, crews responded to multiple incidents including vehicle electrical fires, a barn fire, a wall fire in an abandoned building, a dry‑grass blaze, and a rescue of four river‑stranded persons. Evacuations involved dozens of residents – four people were evacuated from the Riga fire, six from the second building, and eleven from a house in Valmiera. Across the country, 140 road‑traffic accidents were recorded in the same period, resulting in nine injuries. The fire services’ actions prevented further casualties and secured both human lives and animals.