Bulgarian Culture Minister Vows Swift Repair of Fire-Damaged Theater Building

Bulgarian Culture Minister Petar Stoyanovich has vowed to do everything possible to repair the damage caused by the fire at the Plovdiv Drama Theater as soon as possible.

Stoyanovich arrived Thursday morning in Plovdiv to evaluate the condition of the fire-damaged building.

He made clear that it was yet to be seen whether the insurance coverage of the building would suffice or the repair works would require additional funding from the state budget.

He also assured the citizens of Plovdiv that they had no reason to worry that the theater would stop functioning.

Bulgaria's Culture Minister, as cited by the Focus news agency, emphasized that it was important to manage to organize the "Scene of the Crossroads" international theater festival scheduled to start in 20 days.

The main stage of the Plovdiv Drama Theater was destroyed in a fire Thursday morning, which brought up the possibility of a cancellation of the theater's new 2013/2014 season.

The tip-off for the fire was received at 8:14 am on Thursday by the local unit of the Interior's Chief Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection Directorate.

By 9:30 am, the fire had been extinguished, but the flames had already inflicted serious damage.

The fire is believed to have been ignited right below the main stage.

The cause of the fire is still unclear.

Under preliminary estimates of firefighters, repairing the damage may take 2-3 years.

As a backup plan, the actors may play at the Trade Union House, or the theater company may start functioning as a traveling theater company in order to generate revenues, according to dnevnik.bg.

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