to the roof. This was necessary because the building's internal firefighting water-pipes had been fractured by the explosion and water pumped through them was lost before it could reach the roof. The high level of radioactivity present on the roof, however, quickly began to take its toll. Ignatenko and the others were inhaling irradiated smoke, and working amid piles of ejected nuclear material, and soon began to experience the initial effects of acute radiation syndrome. Firefighters ordered by Major Leonid Telyatnikov to ascend the fire escape and assist met them halfway up as they struggled to descend, vomiting uncontrollably and unable to fully support themselves without one another's help. Helped to the ground by fellow firefighters, Ignatenko was evacuated to the Pripyat Hospital, around 4 a.m. Hospitalisation and death Ignatenko was initially hospitalised in Pripyat, but as the extent of the disaster began to be understood, all of the firefighters and plant personnel suffering from radiation exposure were evacuated by road to the Boryspil Airport near Kiev, and from there to Moscow by air. There he and the others were transported to Hospital No. 6, a hospital operated by Sredmash (the Soviet state nuclear energy agency) and the All-Union Physics Institute which had a specialized radiological department. There, in hopes of mitigating the effects of Acute Radiation Syndrome, Ignatenko was administered a bone marrow transplant on 2 May 1986, with his older sister as the donor. Ignatenko's younger sister Natasha had been identified as the preferable candidate and summoned to Moscow with her sister by telegram on April 28, but as she was then only thirteen years of age, Ignatenko rejected her out of concern for her health. It was hoped the procedure would raise his white blood cell count, which had been lowered sharply by radiation exposure, leaving him extremely vulnerable to infection. Unfortunately, though Ignatenko recovered from the operation, the transplant was unsuccessful in producing the desired result and his condition continued to worsen. He experienced hair loss and skin necrosis as his digestive and respiratory system continued to degrade. By May 4, he was unable to stand. Infection brought on by damage to his immune system eventually led to organ failure. Vasily Ignatenko died at 11:20 in the morning on 13 May 1986. Ignatenko's funeral was held two days later on 15 May, attended by his family and the families of other injured and deceased firefighters. Ignatenko