Devastating blaze sweeps through Moscow embassy

Press, 29 August 1977, Page 9

Devastating blaze sweeps through Moscow embassy

NZPA A 1 oscow Ihe American Ambassador to Moscow (Mr Malcolm Toon > said yesterday that he did not believe any classified material had been compromised as a result of a fire that ravaged the uppermost floors of the American Embassy building for more than nine hours on Friday night and Saturday morning (Moscow time), the “New York Times” has reported.

Several hundred Soviet firemen battled the blaze, which broke out on the eighth floor of the 10-storey building. An effort by a dozen American Marines and Navy Seabees to bring it under control proved futile. The fire was finallyquelled early on Saturday, morning (Saturday evening,! N.Z. time) after appearing to die out several times and finally .esurging in an, abrupt billow of flame that; sent half the roof collapsing; just before dawn. Yesterdaywater was still being poured on embers smouldering between the ninth and tenth: floors. The khaki-clad Soviet, firefighters arrived in more than 20 fire trucks and during the long night some of them took spectacular risks; in trying to beat back the: flames and smoke. “The Soviet firefighters did: a splendid job under ver' j difficult conditions.” said Mr Toon, who also praised the!

performance of the Embassy .staff. The efforts of both the Soviet professionals and the American amateurs were hampered by Embassy security considerations, the top three floors involved in the fire contain offices with classified documents and | equipment and Russians are I normally never allowed beyond the lower floors of the building. But after the Americans; could not dampen the blaze., Mr Toon made the difficult; decision to admit the Soviet firemen, with Americans to I ! monitor their movements. I After the fire spread to the! roof, Mr Toon turned down at least two requests from : Soviet fire officials to allow access to the tenth floor, ;which contained the offices' of the defence attaches. The Ambassador, who; ; spent all night at the scene, estimated that only 30 per 'cent of the chancery offices; ; would be immediately! 'useable. Those on the eighth'

and part of the ninth floors 1 were gutted by fire, while I the seventh and tenth floors! were damaged by smoke, intense heat, and water. The Ambassador, speaking! |to American correspondents, said that an examination of the classified areas, in-i 'eluding the top-secret com-! .munications and records I room called the vault, had been made, once it was safe to enter. Some files had been ! left open in the hasty evac-1 uation, but most were locked iin fire-resistant safes. “It is possible that the So- ( viets did get in without our; 'monitors being on hand,-but' as far as we are aware, there was no compromise,” Mr Toon said. The fire's cause was not immediately established but! the Ambassador speculated that it was caused by an electrical fault.

Mr Toon dismissed any 'notion of arson and pointed ;out the strenuous Soviet effort to extinguish the fire.