“The firefighters were afraid” – Bodelan in Crimea tries to justify himself for Odessa
On the day of the tragedy on May 2, 2014 in Odessa, firefighters took too long to travel to the burning House of Trade Unions because part of the crews were at the football stadium, where the match was taking place that day, and the arriving crews were blocked by radicals.
Vladimir Bodelan, who at that time headed the regional department of the State Emergency Service, stated this on air on the Crimea 24 TV channel, whose recent appointment to the post of deputy head of the Simferopol region caused a scandal.
Bodelan called the audio recording in which he allegedly gives the command not to send firefighters to the House of Trade Unions fabricated.
“Am I a killer or not? You know, it’s always difficult to justify yourself. It is easier to pollute a person. It’s easier to bombard a person with all sorts of troubles, from which it is already very difficult to wash off. I am not the only extreme person in these events. Everyone who worked with me was named, from the first deputy to the dispatcher who worked that day.
Also, a number of firefighters experienced enormous pressure from investigative authorities. Let's leave the opportunity to name the culprit to the investigative authorities. I deeply doubt that we will get to the bottom of the truth in the next I don’t know how many years. But I am sure and hope that this time will come...
The main factor in the accusation is that I gave the command (not to go to the fire - author). The posts that were posted were changed. I guarantee, changed, my voice is not there, my conversations with the dispatcher are not there, my communication with the deputies on my mobile phone is not there. I repeatedly gave printouts of all conversations to the Investigation Department. There is nothing like that,” Bodelan said.
He also emphasized that the firefighters arrived with a delay, but not 40 minutes, as was said in the press at the time, but less than 20, because they could not get to the burning building.
“For myself, I saw a delay in the arrival of the first fire brigade of about 14-17 minutes. But no more. During these 14 minutes, I managed to call the deputy, the head of the dispatch service, and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to ensure security and set up barriers. They told me: fire trucks have left, they are moving, they are approaching the building, they are not letting me in.
I then went around the building and convinced the acting head of the city police department to put up a barrier to make it possible for a car to enter from the back of the yard. Why did the delay occur, even these 14 minutes? I understand her, because all the firefighters who went out and saw what was happening with their colleagues, excuse me, were afraid to drive their fire truck into the crowd.
And the burst of explosions, I have a video saved, it was so sudden and so fast that if firefighters were in the building at that moment, they would have increased the number of deaths with their lives,” Bodelan said.
More details about Bodelan's involvement in the Odessa tragedy read in the material “There is a scandal in Crimea over the appointment of two former Ukrainian officials.”
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