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Wednesday afternoon was intense for the firefighters of Santiago de Cuba, who responded to two emergencies with just minutes apart.
According to a report on Facebook by Aris Arias Batalla, provincial chief of Operations, Rescue, and Aquatic Security, they received a call at 5:57 PM from the delegate of the popular council Vista Hermosa, alerting them about an elderly neighbor who had not been seen for several days and whose residence remained closed.
A team from Command 1 Martí arrived at the scene and, in the absence of a response, forced the door in the presence of community members.
Inside the home, they found the elderly Cecilio de los Suitos Compta, 70 years old, lying on the floor, completely dehydrated. He was urgently taken by SIUM to a hospital.
While the rescue was coming to an end, the firefighters received another alert: a fire at the Soy Processing Plant, around 7:15 p.m.
The fire originated in the main control panel of the preparation building, but the swift action of Command 4 Vista Alegre and rescue technicians prevented the flames from spreading to other areas of the factory. No casualties or injuries were reported.
According to a maintenance worker, the fire may have started after the electricity was restored, when sparks occurred, and shortly after, smoke began to emerge from the premises. Specialized experts are investigating the causes of the incident.
Hours later, the firefighters faced a third event: a fire in a landfill near the park, the Catholic church, a liquefied gas point, and a Panamericana store, in the area known as La Barca de Oro.
According to Arias Batalla, the flames could have reached those facilities if action had not been taken quickly.
The specialist criticized the social indiscipline and negligence of those who cause fires in garbage dumps, reminding that the city is facing a critical situation following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, with streets filled with debris, shortages, inflation, and a rise in diseases such as dengue and chikungunya.
In recent weeks, several fires have raised alarm in various parts of the country. An incident at a service station in Santa Clara surprised employees and customers when a Lada car suddenly caught fire next to one of the fuel pumps.
Although no casualties were reported, the incident forced the evacuation of the area due to the risk of an explosion from the fuel.
Also recently, the Parranderos de Cuba groups faced considerable material losses following a fire that destroyed one of their working spaces, where they stored decorative structures.
Days ago, in Villa Clara, the explosion of a gas cylinder in a hotel caused a fire that left three people injured and forced the activation of emergency protocols.
The flames were brought under control by the firefighters before they could spread, although the material damage to the facility was significant.
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