Kharkiv
Fire Department with watchtower
The fire department in Zaikivka has the status of an architectural monument of local importance.
It was built in 1884-1886 according to the project of architect Hryhoryi Stryzhevsky. In the nineteenth century, on the territory of modern Ukraine, urban buildings were mostly wooden, and, thus, easily inflamed which meant the fire could quickly spread to neighboring houses. Therefore, fire departments had watchtowers so that the guards could detect fires in time and transmit a signal to firefighters. The Kharkiv fire department №4 was also built in this style.
The building until our time has been fulfilling its purpose. It housed a fire department, a district department of the State Emergency Service and a research and testing laboratory.
On March 28, the fire department was badly damaged during a Russian artillery shelling. The facades, windows and a roof of the building are damaged.