-Published: Thursday, January 16, 2020-




By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Red Cross is developing a campaign to receive donations, like food and personal care products, to be delivered to the victims of a huge fire in the community of Los Sauces in Heredia.

According to the latest Red Cross report, the emergency began at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. For reasons that are still being investigated, an immense fire covered an area of 8,400 square meters, destroying at least 150 small houses.

After almost 10 hours, at noon firefighters had managed to control the fire. During the emergency, the paramedics treated 33 people for medical problems due to smoke inhalation. Also, five people were transferred to the emergency room of Heredia Hospital.

Among the people treated at the hospital were two firefighters who had been hit with the debris from the burning structures.

"To attend the emergency were seven emergency vehicles. The majority of patients transferred had pulmonary problems after breathing a large quantity of smoke," said Guido Vasquez, Red Cross operations coordinator.

The Red Cross, called on the population, to help the people who lost their homes in the fire. People can deliver goods to the nearest Red Cross station, including donations of food, canned food, long-lasting milk, personal care products, clothes in good condition, blankets and baby diapers.

The Red Cross said that cash donations are not being requested or allowed.

Donations will be received until Saturday, and every day the Red Cross staff take the donations to the emergency committee of the Municipality in Heredia, which is in charge of giving the goods to the fire victims.

Also, the Institute of Social Assistance reported the budget of $174,673 has already approved for been distribution among the affected families to cover basic needs such as rent payment for temporary housing and food.

The institute reported that this financial support is for a limited period of approximately six months.

The National Emergency Commission opened two temporary shelters, the first in the gymnasium of Manuel Benavides School in the San Francisco district and another in the Liceo de Los Lagos in the district of Los Lagos, both Heredia.

Commission officials brought at the shelters 200 bags with food and 600 mattresses to help the people who must settle there until they can find another home.

According to the Costa Rican Firefighters, more than 100 of their number were needed to control the emergency. “This has been the largest structural fire in a neighbor we have attended,” said Héctor Chaves, general director of Firefighters.

According to the Firefighters statistics, during this month 900 fire emergencies have already been handled, of which 63 were fires in structures.

Firefighters confirmed no deaths were reported.


This is the second large fire in a neighborhood in less than one year. In September 2019, a fire at the community of Barrio Cuba, in San José, burned at least 40 houses.

That fire covered approximately 800 square meters. There were houses built of wood and even cardboard, material which helped the fire spread rapidly.

"The fire spread faster because the houses were built with wood and some even with cardboard," said Chaves.

According to the Firefighters' report, 14 extinguishing units and 120 firefighters were used to control the fire that lasted about one hour and burned at least 40 houses.

A team of approximately 50 police officers helped evacuate people and secure the perimeter to prevent people from entering the burning area to recover items from their homes.

The Emergency Commission reported that 300 people lost their homes, of these 210 were adults and 90 were children.

There were no people injured during this emergency.

The Municipality of San José set up a shelter in a gymnasium in Barrio Cuba, where 70 people stayed for weeks.

The National Emergency Commission supported the victims with food, beds, blankets, medicines and personal care supplies.

Also, the Water Institute installed tanks to supply the shelter.

The Ministry of Housing carried out the process of registering families in an aid program to finance the construction or purchase of a house.


 
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