Penza, 14 January 2012. PenzaNews. Two persons died and one suffered burns at three fires which occurred in the Penza region on Friday, January 13.

“At about 6:30pm Moscow time a fire broke out in a brick residential building in Akhuny district of Penza. As a result, the building of 30 square meters in area burned to the ground. A 62-year-old owner of the house died in the fire. The tentative cause of the fire is the violation of safety regulations for furnace equipment,” the press service of the Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation for the Penza region told news agency PenzaNews.

The second fire which also resulted in a death happened in Nikolsk at 10:35pm Moscow time.

“An apartment partially burned down inside with a 44-year-old owner having died of smoke suffocation. The tentative cause of the fire is careless handling of fire: the man left an electric stove on,” specified the press service.

On the same night fire broke out in a one storey residential house owned by an 83-year-old pensioner who lived alone. The old man suffered back burns and was taken to the Central Regional Hospital.

“According to our preliminary assessment, the fire occurred due to the overheating of the furnace,” added the press service.