Andis Lunts, lieutenant colonel, Master of Fire Sports, member of the Latvian national fire sports team, multiple Latvian and Baltic champion in fire sports, operational duty officer of the Fire Headquarters, later deputy head of the Operational Tactical Department, gifted with great will power, self-control, determination, courage, shared his memories , a representative of one of the largest firefighting dynasties in Latvia:
"Early on the morning of 8 July 1989, at 4.30 a.m., an alarm sounded. In Old Riga, next to the Polytechnic Institute the attic of the house was burning down. After the reconnaissance, I ordered the Riga fire department to localize the fire: the anti-smoke sections to take positions in the attic behind the firewalls to prevent the fire from spreading further. Inside the attic, I decided to fight the fire myself. My assistant volunteered to do this difficult task.
We had a serious weapon in our hands fire hose with barrel.
As it turned out, this time one barrel was not enough. Tongues of flames surrounded us from all sides. Although we poured water on ourselves and fought desperately against the flames, we had to retreat. The help of other stages was needed.
I opened the hatch and tried to get out on the roof. Getting on the roof was hindered by my oxygen-isolating breathing apparatus. The flames engulfed me from all sides
I immediately decided to drop the device, hold my breath and get out on the roof. That's what I did. When I dropped the breathing apparatus, I lost my glove.
Leaning against the roof heated by the fire, I got out through the hatch and immediately left this death zone. Only then did I realize that my left hand was burnt, because without a glove, I was clinging to the surface of the tin roof damaged by the fire with my bare hand. What was after that? The fire was extinguished, but I was hospitalized."
(From the newspaper "Ugunsdzēsējs" No. 11/12 (163/164) 1994)