Fire destroys a home in Santiago de Cuba

A devastating fire nearly completely destroyed a house in the city of Santiago de Cuba this Sunday, causing severe material damage but with no injuries or deaths, as confirmed by an official source.

The fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday in a house located at Ríos Rivera #112, between Prolongación de Calvario and Hermanos Marín, in the Veguita de Galo neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba.

A preliminary report by communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook documented the event as it was happening.

The house “is currently on fire”, he said, adding that the firefighters had already arrived at the scene, but there was “a large amount of smoke coming from the affected house, because they ran out of water and are waiting for a larger tanker truck to completely extinguish the fire.”

Mayeta warned that the incident kept the residents of the neighborhood “on edge,” fearful that the fire would spread to neighboring houses, as rescue teams attempted to extinguish the flames.

Until that moment, the causes of the incident were unknown, and there was no information regarding possible human casualties.

Subsequently, rescuer Aris Arias Batalla, provincial vice president of the Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Cuba, reported that at the time of the incident, there was no one at home and confirmed that "there were no injuries or fatalities."

According to his social media post, the fire completely destroyed the living room and the first bedroom of the house, caused partial damage to the bathroom and the second bedroom, while the damages in the kitchen-dining area were minor.

A resident of the home stated that it was recently purchased and acknowledged “deficiencies in the electrical system,” Arias noted.

The rescuer stated that "the speed, effectiveness, and professionalism of the young members of Fire Command #1 (Martí) prevented the spread to other nearby homes and stopped the flames from engulfing all areas of the affected house."

He also expressed gratitude for the contributions of the Electric Company, Aguas Santiago, the Police, and the Cuban Red Cross in Santiago de Cuba, specialized and cooperating forces "in the face of these fatal events."

Transformer explodes in another neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba

Another concerning incident reported in the city of Santiago de Cuba caused alarm among residents of the Mariana de la Torre neighborhood: the explosion of an electrical transformer in the early hours of this Monday.

According to the information published by Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, an electrical transformer located on Jesús Menéndez Avenue —known as Cristina— exploded around 5:00 a.m. and “turned the street into a scene of panic.”

Residents of the area reported that the device had been inspected the previous day by linemen from the Electric Company, following a report from the neighbors. According to their accounts, the response was that "there was no problem"; however, "hours later, the explosion proved otherwise," Mayeta pointed out.

In images shared on social media, the transformer was seen burning. "It looked like an Olympic torch that wouldn't go out," a witness told the reporter. The neighbors feared that the flames would spread to the houses.

A firefighting team arrived in the area and quickly extinguished the blaze. However, the neighborhood residents remained on "high alert" with "a question hanging in the air: how long will negligence and lack of maintenance continue to put the lives of the people of Santiago at risk?" the publication warned.

Frequently asked questions about fires in Santiago de Cuba