The municipality believes that there is no need to conduct an investigation regarding the fire at 1/3 Buzandi.
28-08-2026 16:32 Armenia Press of Diaspora
On August 13, a fire broke out in the basement of the second building of the city hall at 1/3 Buzandi Street in Yerevan. According to information received by «Hetq», the archive stored in the basement was damaged, but the city hall denies this news.
The city hall reports that a partial outbreak and smoke inhalation were recorded around 18:05, when most of the employees were no longer in the building.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed «Hetq» that the alert was received at the 112 operational management center only at 18:20. Five firefighting units, one aerial ladder, and about 40 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. The fire was contained by 20:25 and completely extinguished by 21:00 (the firefighting lasted about 2.5 hours). A total of 150 citizens were evacuated from the building.
What burned in the basement
According to the city hall's clarification, the part that burned was the storage area of «Yerevannakhagits» LLC, which is community property (with an area of 60 square meters), where only damaged computers and used economic items were stored. The structure assures that there were «no archival or any other type of documents in that area,» and that their archive is kept on the 8th floor.
However, the State Inspection Body for Urban Development, Technical and Fire Safety (KTHA) informed «Hetq» that, according to information received from the rescuers, there were folders and books at the fire site.
No investigation or study has been conducted
Both law enforcement and the city hall have refused to investigate the case. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that no investigation has been conducted in the Police, and no proceedings have been initiated since no complaints have been received.
The city hall links the cause of the fire to power fluctuations and notes: «There has been no need to start an investigation or inquiry on this matter, as no significant damage has been caused to the administrative building or property.»
Unanswered questions
«Hetq» directed twenty-one questions to the city hall, many of which the structure has not answered, limiting itself to a general statement. In particular, the city hall has avoided the following questions:
Are the archival documents digitized and do they have backup copies?
Have the fire safety, temperature, and humidity standards of the archive been maintained?
When was the last time the fire safety of the Buzandi 1/3 building checked, and which body conducted it?
The position of the inspection body and the requirements of the law
The head of the public relations department of the inspection body, Elena Zohrapyan, mentioned in an interview with «Hetq» that the Buzandi 1/3 address was not included in their inspection program.
According to the criteria established by the relevant government decision, state institutions are considered low-priority objects in terms of risk (unlike factories, gas stations, or shopping centers).
Zohrapyan stated that the city hall could have approached them to conduct an investigation, but no such request has been received. Nevertheless, the inspection body promises to conduct an investigation at the mentioned address after the fire.
Thus, after a fire that covered an area of 60 square meters and lasted 2.5 hours, no state body has conducted an official investigation. The city hall puts forward the hypothesis of «power fluctuations» without a conclusion from a professional examination, while information about the folders and books in the basement remains unclarified.
The official response of the city hall in full:
In response to «Hetq»'s inquiry, the Yerevan city hall provided the following response:
«As a result of the fire, the economic storage area of the «Yerevannakhagits» company burned, where mainly damaged computers and old and used economic items were stored, and there were no archival or any other type of documents in this area. The archive is kept on the 8th floor of the second building of the city hall. The fire alarm system was operational at the time of the fire caused by power fluctuations, and there was a fire extinguisher near the storage room door. The partial outbreak and smoke inhalation were recorded around 18:05, when most employees were not in the building, and there has been no need to start an investigation or inquiry on this matter, as no significant damage has been caused to the administrative building or property.»:
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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