Awwal 17, 1432 H/Feb 20, 2011, SPA -- A residential home for disabled children in a small Estonian town burned down Sunday, killing at least 10 children according to local media reports, according to dpa. The orphanage, home to around 40 children with various disabilities, was located in the port of Haapsalu on Estonia's western coast, 100 kilometres from the capital Tallinn. The TV3 television channel said the alarm had been raised around 2.30 pm local time (1230 GMT) and that despite a reaction time of three minutes by firefighters, the blaze had already taken hold by the time they arrived and entered the building. Reports said that in addition to the dead, many children and care workers had been hospitalized. An unnamed worker at the home, quoted by internet portal Delfi, said the scene was "total chaos," with children grabbing whatever they could save from the fire and rushing outside into snow and ice in temperatures well below freezing. Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said the fire had "shocked the whole nation" and asked for flags to be flown at half-mast across the country on Monday. The tragedy looks likely to cast a shadow over celebrations of Estonia's independence day on February 24. Tallinn mayor Edgar Savisaar also expressed his condolences to the families of the dead and said the Estonian capital would provide as much assistance as possible.
