Vasily Ignatenko
Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko | |
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Ignatenko during his term of conscripted service as a military firefighter | |
| Born | 13 March 1961 Sperizh'e, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 13 May 1986 (aged 25) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Buried | Mitinskoe Cemetery, Moscow, Russia |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Branch | MVD Internal Troops |
| Service years | 1980–1982 |
| Rank | Senior Sergeant |
| Unit | Paramilitary Fire Brigade No. 6 (Pripyat) |
| Known for | First response to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and death from acute radiation syndrome |
| Awards |
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| Spouse |
Lyudmilla Ignatenko (m. 1983) |
| Children | Natasha Ignatenko (1986–1986) |
| Chernobyl disaster |
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Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko (Ukrainian: Василь Іванович Ігнатенко; Belarusian: Васіль Іванавіч Ігнаценка; Russian: Василий Иванович Игнатенко; 13 March 1961 – 13 May 1986) was a Soviet firefighter who was among the first responders to the Chernobyl disaster.
He worked as an electrician before being conscripted into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1980, where he completed his two years of service as a military firefighter. Afterwards, he took up employment as a paramilitary firefighter with Fire Brigade No. 6, based in Pripyat. On 26 April 1986, Ignatenko's fire brigade was involved in mitigating the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster; fighting the fires that broke out following the initial explosion of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. While on site, Ignatenko received a high dose of radiation, leading to his death at a radiological hospital in Moscow eighteen days later.