Shelter for stray animals and abused pets goes up in flames killing 110 dogs and 30 cats

The late night fire - pictured here - at 'Loyal' shelter in Yagunovo village, some 17 kilometres from Kemerovo, was put out 26 minutes after the alarm was sounded, but at a terrible cost. 

Of the 140 dogs in the shelter, 110 were killed. 30 out of 65 cats also perished in the blaze. Tatyana Medvedeva, head of the shelter, claimed arson was to blame and that ten minutes after the fire began, all the cages were in flames. 

'What was ignited were the cages and enclosures with animals, but not the main building with wiring and appliances,' she said. 'Cats were roaming around the grounds, so many of them survived.'

She stated: 'I think it was arson. Our member of staff Lyudmila Vasilyuk was here and saw how the cages ignited. It was very fast, in a few minutes.

'Literally, in 10 minutes all the cages were on fire. Nearly half of animals that died here, we had rescued when they were nearly dying. They survived... Many had been through the serious surgeries, after injuries, accidents and abuse. And now they are dead.'

Lyudmila had desperately rushed to open cages, smash windows, aided by locals. Now volunteers are helping to clean the debris, remove the bodies of dead animals, and bring food and water for those who survived. 

Tatyana's husband had taken a bank loan to keep the shelter going. It was unclear who might have had reason to commit arson. 

Firefighters said the 'preliminary cause' was violation of rules of use of electrical equipment and bad wiring.