DATE-TIME 02/03 17: 15 COPY 01 OF 01 OF SOVIET-REPORT

BC-Soviet Report, Bjt, 2310-FL-

TASS Confirms Oil Field Fire-FL-

EDS: Moved in advance for SATURDAY PMs-FL-

BY: Patrick Flynn-FC-

AP Moscow Correspondent

MOSCOW (AP)-It was confirmed today by TASS, the Soviet news agency, that "a serious f ire" had taken place in the western Siberian region of the Soviet Union.

A back-page article in Pravda, the official Communist Party newspaper noted the fire, commenting that the "heroic fire brigade" had saved countless lives by its skill and devotion to duty, also preventing more serious damage to the nearby oil facilities.

The fire was reportedly begun by a "technical malfunction" in the automatic refinery control systems and spread rapidly, but was swiftly extinguished, "not without casualties among the brave men detailed to attack the fire, and the courageous workmen who raced heroically to their comrades' side."

Though somewhat at odds with Western reports, the fire in the area did go out more quickly than had been expected. Western officials are now speculating about a highly sophisticated firefighting system built into the Nizhnevartovs facility that allowed the Soviets to extinguish the fire.