Since the beginning of 2025, there have been 7656 fire incidents in the Odesa region, resulting in the deaths of 55 people, including two children. Additionally, 130 individuals sustained injuries, among them nine children and nine rescuers. This information was provided by the Odesa City Council press service.

The highest number of fatalities has been recorded in the Odesa, Podilsk, and Bereziv districts. Most of the victims are retirees and unemployed individuals over 61 years old.
The main causes of fires are careless handling of fire, particularly smoking while intoxicated, and violations of electrical equipment and stove operation rules. Estimated direct material losses from fires have exceeded 2 billion 490 million UAH.

Rescue services have urged citizens to adhere to fire safety rules in their households:

• Ensure the heating sources are safe before the heating season begins;
• Regularly clean chimneys and stoves from soot and check for cracks;
• During the heating season, do not leave stoves unattended, and it is strictly forbidden to leave children home alone with a lit stove;
• Cleaning heating stoves from soot and debris should be done at least once every three months; a metal plate sized at least 0.5 x 0.7 m should be placed in front of the stove’s opening on the combustible floor;
• Stoves and other heating devices must have fire separation distances from combustible structures;
• Do not use uncertified or homemade heating devices; avoid placing heating devices directly under outlets or on evacuation routes;
• Avoid plugging in multiple electrical appliances into extension cords simultaneously to prevent overload; never leave young children unattended and do not let them play with matches or lighters;
• Do not use electric heaters for drying clothes and other materials; do not leave electric heating devices switched on when leaving the house; do not smoke in bed.

Citizens have also been reminded of the rules for using gas burners and that all gas camping cylinders are single-use. Key guidelines include:

• Do not leave cylinders in direct sunlight;
• Remove the cylinder from the gas burner away from open flames;
• Keep burners away from children and flammable materials;
• Carefully read instructions and safety guidelines before use.