ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A woman was killed on Saturday after a fire broke out in a house in Akre, Duhok province.
“The fire broke out in a house at around 3:50 AM today, leading to the death of a woman from Dinarta,” Ibrahim Fariq, head of Akre civil defence directorate, told Rudaw.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
“The fire was intense. After the woman's three children told their neighbors, they contacted the firefighting teams, who managed to bring the fire under control in less than 10 minutes,” Fariq said.
Fariq said that the woman’s body was sent to the forensic medicine department in Akre and all three children are safe.
Fires are a frequent problem in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq where safety standards are often lacking or not met. The risk is higher with summer’s scorching temperatures.
About 1,300 fires have been reported since the start of the year, resulting in at least 60 deaths, according to official data from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in May.
More than 20,000 fires were recorded in Iraq in 2023, a significant number but a decrease from 32,000 in 2022, according to data from Iraq’s civil defense.
Hunar Rasheed contributed to this report
