MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - The Emergency Situations Ministry is regularly briefing Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation with the fire in the Sverdlovsk region and the measures taken, and Putin tasked Sverdlovsk Governor Yevgeny Kuivashev with providing full assistance to the fire's victims as they spoke by phone, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Putin is being regularly briefed by the Emergency Situations Ministry, by Minister Alexander Kurenkov, on the situation with the fire in the Sverdlovsk region, and the measures taken to mitigate the damage and prevent the fire from spreading," Peskov said.
Putin spoke with Kuivashev by phone, he said.
"He gave instructions to provide social assistance and everything necessary to the people who lost their homes," Peskov said.
Sosva municipality head Gennady Makarov said earlier that the fire had damaged about 120 homes, and only three to four homes could be repaired.
The fire in Sosva broke out on Tuesday afternoon. It was contained to 9,000 square meters on Wednesday morning. The fire killed one person. An emergency was declared in the town. The Russian Investigative Committee opened two criminal cases on counts of possible negligence by officials and on causing the death of an individual found at the scene of the fire.