A FIRE ROARED THROUGH A DORMITORY HOUSING,MILITARY OFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILIES OUTSIDE MOSCOW ON MONDAY, KILLING EIGHT PEOPLE, INCLUDING TWO CHILDREN, OFFICIALS SAID. THE FIRE BROKE OUT IN A ONE-STOREY BRICK BUILDING IN THE SHYOLKOVO DISTRICT SOUTH OF MOSCOW, CAUSING ITS ROOF TO COLLAPSE, SAID YULIA STADNIKOVA, SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MINISTRY. THE DORMITORY, WHICH BELONGS TO AIRBORNE FORCES, HOUSED 54 PEOPLE, INCLUDING 38 SERVICEMEN AND 16 FAMILY MEMBERS. INVESTIGATORS ARE WORKING AT THE SITE OF THE FIRE TO DETERMINE ITS CAUSE AND ARE CONSIDERING SHORT CIRCUIT AND SAFETY VIOLATIONS AS LIKELY CAUSES, THE ITAR-TASS NEWS AGENCY REPORTED. A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCIDENT HAS ALSO BEEN OPENED. RUSSIA HAS ABOUT 18,000 FIRE DEATHS A YEAR _ ROUGHLY 10 TIMES THE RATE IN THE UNITED STATES AND 12.5 TIMES HIGHER THAN IN BRITAIN _ DUE IN PART TO LAX ENFORCEMENT OF REGULATIONS AND SHODDY CONSTRUCTION, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTED.
