OREANDA-NEWS. December 9, 2010. New homes built for homeless fire victims in Verkhnyaya Vereya Village, the Vyksa District, were put into operation. This event was attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

In June this year, 341 homes were destroyed by a fire storm in Verkhnyaya Vereya Village. A total of 661 homes burned down in the Vyksa District this summer. Aid to the homeless fire victims was rendered by public authorities and businesses.

In September, the United Metallurgical Company (OMK) management decided to allocate 300 million rubles to provide financial aid to all of the fire victims in the Vyksa District, irrespective of whether they work for the Company or not. OMK granted 682 certificates to the fire victims so that they could buy furniture. The certificates were distributed among families with their future residential floor area in mind (100 thousand rubles for 45 square meters, 150 thousand rubles for 65 square meters, and 200 thousand rubles for 90 square meters). The family who chose to rehabilitate their homes on their own received 200-thousand-ruble certificates from OMK.

Today, the Prime Minister said that 401 homes had been built in Verkhnyaya Vereya Village. "All the homes were provided with gas, telephones, household appliances, and furniture. The furniture is quite decent, at least the homes looked very comfortable when I visited some of them," said Vladimir Putin. In this connection, Mr. Putin spoke positively of the position by Vyksa Steel Works (VSW, part of OMK), who allocated funds for buying the furniture. In August 2010, a special account was opened by the OMK-Uchastiye Charitable Foundation to help the victims. The account funds were used to extend targeted aid to the homeless fire victims: to buy children's clothes, footwear, bedding, and stationery supplies. In addition, the Foundation allocated funds to the central district hospital to buy medical equipment—specifically, a spirograph to examine children suffering from bronchial asthma and other bronchopulmonary diseases. Right after the tragedy, Vyksa Steel Works provided accommodation to 237 fire victims at the Metallurg sanatorium-preventorium and hostels. At present, 75 people have already moved into new homes. VSW continues to provide accommodation and meals to 162 people.

In August–October, OMK and VSW executives held regular meetings with homeless fire victims and helped them to solve their problems in an expeditious manner. According to OMK President Vladimir Markin, the company will continue helping the victims even after they move into new homes. Specifically, it is planned to provide certificates for household appliances and lend individual support through the OMK-Uchastiye Foundation.