Published on Wednesday, April 9, 2008
CAMAGUEY, Cuba (ACN): A large fire that broke out Monday afternoon in a
department store in the eastern city of Camaguey in Cuba claimed the
life of a firefighter and caused considerable damage. The blaze was
finally put out Monday evening.
Some 500 members of the Ministry of the Interior, the Revolutionary
Armed Forces and the Civil Defence along with employees of the shop
named El Encanto, which belongs to the local CIMEX Corporation, finally
managed to control the blaze as night fell, after six hours of struggle.
Firefighter Alejandro Cliville Sariol died and eight others were
injured, including six firefighters, a worker of the SEPSA security
company and an employee at the shop.
Top authorities of the local government and the Communist Party headed
by First Secretary Julio Cesar Garcia Rodriguez were at the scene.
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Jesus Garcia Collazo, head of Civil Defence for the province of
Camaguey, told the press that the immediate participation of the
population in support of the firefighters was vital. He spoke about the
complexity of the situation with the department store housing numerous
inflammable products and located in a dense urban setting in the middle
of the historic quarter of Camaguey.
After calling the fire the worst of its kind in recent years, Garcia
said the El Encanto, the largest department store of the province, would
be repaired and back in business in the shortest possible time. Five
contingents of firefighters took part in combating the blaze, three from
the city and the others from the municipalities of Vertientes and
Nuevitas. A group of forest rangers also took part. Workers from several
institutions and Ministry of the Interior troops worked to keep the fire
from spreading to other businesses and apartments.
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