Veliki Krivelj near Bor: bedridden man dies in fire

A fire that broke out on Saturday, September 12, in a single story family house in the center of the village of Veliki Krivelj near Bor killed an elderly, bedridden man who owned the house.

The house where the fire started stands right in the center of the village, not far from the local church. Kurir and Mondo report that the flames broke out around 6 a.m. Informer, on the other hand, writes that neighbors noticed the fire and called firefighters around 6:20 a.m., without specifying the exact moment the fire began.

According to Informer, neighbors did not spot the fire right away. By the time the call went in, the house was already engulfed in flames. Kurir and Mondo do not mention this detail specifically, but both outlets report that, as they put it, it was already too late for the owner by the time firefighters arrived.

Firefighting crews, all three sources report, reached the scene shortly after the fire was reported. The fire was put out, and it was kept from spreading to neighboring houses. According to Informer, firefighters found the owner’s body inside the house after extinguishing the blaze; he had been bedridden.

The fire, according to Kurir and Mondo, engulfed about 40 square meters of the ground floor of the building.

The sources do not fully agree on the identity of the man who died. Kurir and Mondo give his initials as S. D., while Informer’s report lists them as D. S. Although the order of the letters differs, it is possible this is the same person, since both versions contain the same two initials in reverse order, though neither report explains the discrepancy. None of the three sources gives his exact age, full surname, or whether he lived in the house alone.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. An on-site investigation is underway, aimed at establishing the circumstances under which the fire broke out on the ground floor of the house. None of the three sources mentions an official statement from the Interior Ministry on the incident, nor whether a preliminary criminal proceeding has been opened.

A post-fire investigation typically includes an inspection of where the fire started, the condition of the electrical wiring, and any heating appliances in the room where the blaze began. The findings of a fire investigation expert then help the prosecution determine whether there are grounds for a criminal case, for example negligent handling of fire or faulty wiring, or whether it was an accident with no criminal liability on anyone’s part.

The village of Veliki Krivelj lies in the municipality of Bor, in eastern Serbia. Bor is known for its copper mine, and a nearby copper ore deposit is named after the village as well. The exact address of the house where the fire broke out has not been published; the sources describe it only as a house in the center of the village, near the church.

None of the sources say whether the man who died had family living nearby, or who alerted the authorities to his death. It also remains unknown whether the house was insured, and no estimate of the material damage caused by the fire has been given. None of the sources say whether an autopsy has been scheduled or carried out, nor do they give the exact cause of death.

This article will be updated if the relevant authorities later release an official statement on the cause of the fire or on the exact identity of the man who died.