A disastrous loss of life was averted when a 2:30 a.m. phone call alerted residents to a fire at a building housing leaders of the East Russia region of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and their families. The fire, in Irkutsk, Siberia thoroughly gutted the wood-frame building, but there were no injuries.

Sixteen adults and children lived in the residence, and all were able to evacuate safely, said Pastor Michael F. Kaminsky, secretary of the Euro-Asia area of the church, in a telephone interview from Moscow. The structure was heavily damaged in the fire, he added.

The building was home to Pastors Victor A. Kozakov, president of the church in East Russia; Boris G. Protasevich, secretary; treasurer Alexander Novoselow; Zhan P. Taraniuk, local church pastor as well as area education and Sabbath school director; as well as Oleg I. Shteinberg, youth ministries director, and their families. Although there was no loss of life, personal belongings and furnishings were destroyed in the conflagration. While insurance will cover the loss, some family items may have been permanently lost.

Police and fire officials in Irkutsk are investigating the blaze and its cause, Kaminsky said. No cause has been officially determined for the fire, and both mechanical and other reasons for the blaze are being investigated, and a decision on the cause of the blaze is expected shortly.

Ironically, the phone call that saved lives came not from a vigilant neighbor, but from several time zones away. In Moscow, Pastor Vladimir I. Tkachuk, assistant treasurer for the Euro-Asia area, was scheduled to fly to Siberia for a meeting, but missed a flight due to heavy traffic near the airport. On learning of an alternative flight, Tkachuk called the church president to alert him to the schedule change and on waking, Kozakov noticed the fire. He awakened the residents and all were evacuated.

The building is part of a small, church-owned campus in Irkutsk which houses the local church building, an office block formerly used by the East Russia region, and the residence. The fire affected no other properties on the campus.

Irkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and has long been an economic and social center: there are several universities there and many students, with the average age of the population in the early 30s. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has nearly 16,000 members worshipping in 363 congregations in the East Russia area.