Moscow designer trapped in elite residential complex fire
She was in the building with her son while it was being extinguished. There were no alerts, she said.
Jul 26, 2026 0
Several people remained in the residential complex in central Moscow while the building was being extinguished.
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In an elite residential complex on Strastnoy Boulevard during a fire, designer Olga Rusan found herself trapped. The fashion designer was in her apartment with her son during the extinguishing until her friends called, she told MSK1.RU. According to Olga, there were no fire alerts.
The attic of a building on Strastnoy Boulevard caught fire.
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«We were at home with my son. There was no smoke in our apartment, so we didn«t suspect anything,» Rusan explained in a conversation with MSK1.RU. «We are on the fourth floor. We were just sitting at home and didn»t know what was happening. My son had a cold and was just sleeping. Nobody knocked or called, even though my phone was always in my hand.»
Traffic was blocked on Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Kozitsky Lane due to the fire.
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According to her, there was no alarm, and no one called her phone, even though the complex«s guards have her number. She only learned about the fire after videos of it spread on social media — friends started writing to ask if she was home and if everything was okay.
A drone was brought in to help with the firefighting operation.
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«Friends started sending photos and videos, asking: «Is this your house?» We looked into the stairwell, and it was already ankle-deep in water, everything full of smoke. My son and I ran. We went out in shock, and then we got criticism from the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM), like, what are you doing there?» Olga told MSK1.RU.
In the video that the designer recorded, the area is already cordoned off with warning tape, and dozens of firefighters and rescuers are working. The woman and her 16-year-old son were met with rude remarks and questions:
«Lady, get out of here!» — a man«s voice shouts.
«What do you mean, get out?! Why weren«t we evacuated?» — Olga says hastily.
«I have no idea why you weren«t evacuated!» — a voice off-camera swears at her.
«Lady, what are you doing here? You«re in the way,» — a woman whose face is not visible in the footage remarks to the residents leaving the burning building.
«And the fact that we were at home, is that normal?» — Olga asks.
«And what were you doing at home when everyone was evacuated?» — the woman replies.
Furthermore, on the sixth floor, an entire family with two children remained trapped in their own apartment during the fire.
«They have an electronic lock on the door, and due to a power outage or some glitch, they were locked in,» Olga told MSK1.RU. «We got out when everything was in full swing, we left around 2:00 AM. And I heard they were still there, being rescued. So a lot of time has passed.»
According to Olga, residents of the building on Strastnoy Boulevard currently cannot return home. Most people have gone to sleep at friends« dachas for the night.
«They told us to find somewhere to sleep until tomorrow. Our entire stairwell was flooded, and I don«t know what»s in our apartment. All the doors were left open, and it«s unclear what»s happening in the apartments now because some things are not insured. They are, of course, very worried, everyone is in shock.»
The building also houses commercial premises, including a large fitness club. One of the visitors told MSK1.RU that, unlike the apartments, the alarm in the club went off. Everyone was evacuated from the gym — many left valuables in their lockers.
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