A ferocious fire destroyed several homes tonight in the Pasaje Soler, between Princesa and Santa Rosa streets, in the heart of Santiago de Cuba.
According to the independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on his Facebook profile, the flames and a dense column of black smoke were visible from various high points in the city shortly before 8:00 PM.
"I have been informed that there are between three and five damaged homes, where elderly individuals, working people, and children reside. They have lost everything or almost everything," lamented the reporter in a live broadcast.
The images shared by the journalist show bright orange flames engulfing residential structures, with the interior of at least one home completely destroyed.
"Many neighbors were able to suffocate the voracious flames because there was water in the pipes, and it was the neighbors who first began to extinguish this fire until the first fire brigades arrived," he stated, adding that the command from Paseo Martí in Santiago de Cuba and the one from District 4 were the first to arrive.
A young woman acknowledged that one of the burned houses belonged to her closest relatives. She later informed Mayeta that her father and grandmother were safe and had taken refuge on Santa Rosa Street, although she stated that they had lost everything due to the fire.
According to reported by Yosmany Mayeta himself, so far the only victim of the fire has been the pet of a family in whose home the incident allegedly originated.
At the time of the fire, there was no one inside the property, so it was not possible to rescue the animal, which died as a result of the blaze.
Mayeta also pointed out that she continues to gather precise and updated information about what happened, and she expressed her gratitude to the media outlets that remain attentive to the posts on her page.
According to an anonymous witness who contacted Mayeta around 9:49 PM, the fire was eventually brought under control.
Another person alerted about the arrival of numerous police officers at the location, including patrol cars and members of the DTI.
The concentration of law enforcement forces —including the Technical Investigations Department— amid a humanitarian emergency reflects the tension surrounding any gathering of people in Cuba.
Cuban authorities have not yet issued any official statement regarding the incident, its causes, or the condition of those affected.
The fire at Pasaje Soler adds to a series of recurring disasters in Santiago de Cuba, worsened by the severe energy crisis that the country is suffering. Prolonged blackouts—lasting up to 40 or 50 consecutive hours in some neighborhoods—force citizens to resort to makeshift electrical connections and alternative cooking methods, increasing the risk in areas with a high density of old and deteriorated housing.
The provincial Electric Company has admitted that it could not guarantee even two hours of service daily in many cases.
In June, a house in the Jiménez neighborhood caught fire minutes after the electricity was restored following a blackout, pointing to a short circuit due to overload.
On August 24, firefighters extinguished another fire in the Ampliación de Terrazas neighborhood. The day before, a fire at a landfill in Las Tunas caused significant electrical damage to nearby buildings.
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