Vasily Ignatenko

Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko
Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko
	Ignatenko during his term of conscripted service as a military firefighter
Born	13 March 1961; Sperizh'e, Brahin District, Gomel Region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	13 May 1986 (aged 25); Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Buried	Mitinskoe Cemetery, Moscow, Russia
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	MVD Internal Troops
Years of service	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	Order of the Red Banner (1986); Hero of Ukraine (2006); Order for Courage (2006)
Spouse(s)	Lyudmila Ignatenko (m. 1983)
Children	Natasha Ignatenko (1986–1986)

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.

Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko
Ignatenko during his term of conscripted service as a military firefighter
Born	(1961-03-13)13 March 1961 Sperizh'e, Brahin District, Gomel Region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	13 May 1986(1986-05-13) (aged 25) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Buried	Mitinskoe Cemetery, Moscow, Russia
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	MVD Internal Troops
Years of service	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	Order of the Red Banner (1986) Hero of Ukraine (2006) Order for Courage (2006)
Spouse(s)	Lyudmila Ignatenko (m. 1983)
Children	Natasha Ignatenko (1986–1986)