|
Fire Leaves 40 Homeless
The dry heat, the lack of water
in fire hydrants and a short
circuit from a makeshift
electrical connection, combined
to leave eight families
homeless, as fire broke out in
the "precario" (shanty town) of
Los Higuerones, in Alajuela,
yesterday.
More than 40 people, a large
number of those children, were
left homeless as firefighters
battled a losing battle with a
blaze that quickly destroyed
everything in its path.
The local fire chief, William
Araya, said that there was
nothing his men could do but to
put out the charred wood that
had been consumed by the fire,
and made another appeal to
Legislators to approve the fire
hydrant bill that is before
them.
The lack of water, non-existing
maintenance and the question as
to who is responsible for the
fire hydrants has left
firefighters with dry hoses and
in the fires like yesterday, the
fire consumed the wooden homes
faster than the arrival of the
tanker trucks with water.
"How many more homes must burn
and how many more people left
homeless in the street before
the legislators give their
attention to the national
problem? all the hydrants are
orphans, without water",
complained Araya.
In yesterday's fire, Araya said
that there was not one drop of
water in the fire hydrants and
thanks to the arrival of the
water tanker truck, they were
able to minimize the fire
extending to more "ranchos".
The majority of those affected
lost everything to the fire that
spread so rapidly that they were
unable to get out any belongings
and do not have the financial
resources and will have to count
on the generosity of others to
help get through this terrible
ordeal.
This is not the first time that
a fire like yesterdays broke out
in Los Higuerones. Last year one
man died in a similar fire that
was blamed on an electrical
short circuit from a makeshift
connection that is common in
precarios. And this is not the
first precario to suffer similar
tragedies.
Fortunately, there were no
fatalities in yesterday's fire,
though several people had to be
attended to by Cruz Roja (Red
Cross) for smoke inhalation.
|
|
