MORE Pics - RUSSIAN ST PETERSBURG Cathedral BURNT–Main CUPOLA (Dome) Collapsed; PRICELESS ARTS & ICONS Salvaged; Cigarette BUTT Cause of FIRE?

The Cathedral in its original splendor

From the Russian Blog below, a first hand account:

St Petersburg - The Troitksy Cathedral, built from 1828 – 1835, burst into flames today. Evidence indicates that a construction worker’s unattended cigarette initiated the blaze which then raced through the wooden scaffolding surrounding the Cathedral’s great dome. Even under renovation, the Cathedral fit 3,000 worshipers and remained a prominent St. Petersburg landmark visible from 13 miles away.

Just three minutes after the detection of flames, the first fire truck arrived. In the end, 40 fire trucks and a helicopter helped battle the blaze. Firemen, cathedral priests, and employees managed to save all the icons and furniture inside. The building, designed by Vasiliy Stasov, survived the abuse from the fire and water without sustaining any major structural damage. While the cathedral is a federal historical sight, it is managed by the city of St Petersburg. This raises a question of who is going to pay for the major repairs.
66666666 77777777777777777777

and from the news agency,
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A fire gutted a 19th century cathedral in the heart of Russia's second city on Friday, destroying its famous azure domes which attract thousands of tourists every year.

As flames leapt from the main dome of the Troitsky (Trinity) Cathedral -- one of the largest wooden domes in Europe -- passers-by helped to rescue priceless artifacts from its renowned art and religious icon collection.

"The fire services don't have long enough ladders to reach the top of the dome. They have been aiming their water guns at the middle section," Reuters photographer Alexander Demyanchuk said by telephone from outside the cathedral.

The cathedral had been covered by wooden scaffolding during reconstruction work when the fire started.

"The main dome has been destroyed but we could not stop the fire because it was so high and now other domes are in flames," a spokesman for Russia's emergencies ministry told Interfax news agency.

Emergency services said there had been no casualties.

The Troitsky Cathedral, built overlooking one of central St Petersburg's canals, is big enough to hold 3,000 worshippers and also housed the military uniforms of Russian 19th century tsars.

The arts and religious icons and furnitures rescued