Fire in Recife building may have been caused by a short circuit, says secretary

The fire that hit the roof of a building under construction in the Torre neighborhood, in the west of Recife, may have started due to a short circuit, according to the Secretary of Social Defense of Pernambuco, Alessandro Carvalho. The fire started on Thursday night (28) and, according to firefighters, there were no casualties.

As the fire started on the top floors of the building and spread to lower floors, there was a fear that the building could collapse. However, according to the secretary, this possibility has been ruled out. “There is no risk to the structure of the building, as per the understanding we had with the engineer responsible for the work”, stated Carvalho.

At the time of the fire, only the construction security guard was on site, but he managed to leave as soon as the fire started.

Firefighters controlled the fire this Friday morning (29) and, according to the corporation commander, the rain that fell over Recife helped with the work.

According to the Secretary of Social Defense, firefighters now work in a small paint warehouse — which is flammable — at the bottom of the building. “This containment work will take a while, and we will only leave here when everything is definitively resolved,” said the Fire Department commander, Colonel Luciano Fonseca.

Residents neighboring the building were evacuated from their homes to avoid possible damage from smoke inhalation or the risk of the fire spreading.

The building, which was still under construction, is on Rua Real da Torre and Padre Anchieta. The construction area is around 17 thousand square meters. The work foresees 33 floors in a building approximately 90 meters high.

Construtora Carrilho, responsible for the work, reported that the company is in contact with the authorities to determine the reason for the incident. “It is worth mentioning that the project is insured and no customer of the company will be harmed. During the weekend, technical visits will be carried out at the site to better assess the situation”, says the note.