Image of the fire in the old Campsa warehouses. /
The Mérida highway has been closed for three hours and access has been diverted to reach the fairgrounds
The Mérida highway cut off for nearly three hours, fire, explosions and an intense column of black and toxic smoke from old tires and belongings is the balance of the fire that broke out around 3:30 p.m. this Saturday in Cáceres . This is how Juan Pastor, head guard of the SEPEI fire station describes it, highlighting the confluence of factors that have been added to this event, which occurred in the old Campsa warehouses. It has not been a large volume of burned land, but it can be considered serious. “The worst thing is that there were people inside,” says this professional, who also points out that there has been a risk to the industries located in the area, although not the gas station. They are two homeless people, two men, who live in that lot and where they spend the night. “The first thing we have done has been to take them out, but since they have personal effects they have gone back in, the Police have had to intervene.”
The causes that could have caused it are not known, but there have been numerous containers with flammable liquids and butane bottles that have caused “very important explosions,” Pastor describes. That has been the reason why they have had to cut off the Mérida highway in both directions, among other things because of the impact that toxic smoke could have on the population. The fact that the smoke came from plastic and tires leads to greater toxicity. These are elements that have been in the damaged space for many decades, according to the estimate of the fire chief.
A large security device has acted in this event, which began at 3:30 p.m. /
During the work of these security forces, a local police officer was injured due to smoke inhalation and a firefighter from the Infoex plan suffered trauma from a fall. The fact that the San Fernando fairs are being held and there is abundant vehicle traffic in the area has been an element to take into account, since the Local Police have had to divert traffic. The volume of people passing by on foot also posed a danger. At this time there is still action in the area.
The fire has required the participation of the entire fire station, four crews, in addition to personnel who were at home and had to go. Infoex, the National and Local Police, in addition to health resources, have also participated. The two homeless have been cared for by social services, although they have refused to go to the minimum demand center.
According to the deputy mayor of the City Council, María José Pulido, the fire occurred in the rear of the Porcelanosa warehouses and the wind moved it towards the old Campsa warehouses, which are sealed
Fire in a kitchen
In the middle of this event, the firefighters had to go to put out the fire that occurred in a kitchen on Hernán Cortés Avenue, an event that could be resolved quickly, although it has also put the fire department to the test.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.