Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko | |
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![]() Ignatenko during his term of conscripted service as a military firefighter | |
Born | Sperizh'e, Brahin District, Gomel Region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union | 13 March 1961
Died | 13 May 1986 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | (aged 25)
Buried | Mitinskoe Cemetery, Moscow, Russia |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1980–1982 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | Paramilitary Fire Brigade No. 6 (Pripyat) |
Known for | First response to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and death from acute radiation syndrome |
Awards | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spouse(s) |
Lyudmila 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, which was based out of 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.