Firefighters extinguish a fire in a home in the center of Santiago de Cuba

Firefighters extinguished a blaze that originated in a residence located in the center of the city of Santiago de Cuba, on the morning of this Wednesday, with no injuries reported.

At around 9:15 a.m., firefighters from Command 1 Martí quickly extinguished a small fire (Q101) in a house located at 415 San Francisco Street, between Calvario and Carnicería, reported on Facebook rescuer Aris Arias Batalla, provincial vice president of the Volunteer Firefighters Association of Cuba.

There were no injuries or fatalities, just some property damage, Arias specified. According to his report, there was no one present in the residence.

The photographs shared on Facebook show clothing and objects scorched by flames, scattered on the sidewalk and in front of the building.

The rescuer indicated that the cause of the fire may have been an electrical short circuit and added that the homeowner “did not provide any information or cooperation due to signs of nervousness.”

Officials from the Social Work department "acted quickly with a fire extinguisher" —Arias stated— while some neighbors reported that the firefighters arrived swiftly at the scene. In a preliminary note, it was also reported that personnel from the Electric Union were present at the location.

In recent days, several fires have been reported in residential areas across different provinces. One of the most severe occurred on Monday in the municipality of Güines, in the province of Mayabeque, where the flames reduced three homes to ashes. In the fierce blaze, a resident of one of the affected houses suffered burns to 80% of his body and passed away in the hospital.

Last week, a wildfire near the rural community of El Coco, in Holguín, prompted firefighters to mobilize, successfully containing the flames before they could reach over 20 homes in the area.

At the end of June, a large-scale fire affected at least three homes in the city of Manzanillo, in the province of Granma. Fortunately, there were no human fatalities, but substantial material damage was reported.

The authorities did not comment on the causes of the incident, but some people believed that it may have been related to the use of makeshift means for cooking —such as charcoal and firewood— which many Cuban families resort to due to the prolonged blackouts and the energy crisis affecting the country.

Recently, rescuer Arias issued a warning about the increasing risk of fires caused by urban micro-dumps in the city of Santiago de Cuba.