The shanty settlement of Palos de la Frontera, one of those with the most substandard housing in the province of Huelva, is once again in the news due to a fire that broke out on Sunday night that has destroyed 200 houses made of plastic, cardboard and wood, which represents the 85% of the space where migrants live. The flames have left two people injured with cuts and minor burns.
At the moment, as confirmed by the Government Delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, there is a woman detained for her involvement in the events, and he has announced that the investigation remains open. The agents are now trying to elucidate the intention of the accident.
It was the first deputy mayor of the City Council, Ricardo Bogado, who pointed out this morning that the origin of the flames could have been due to a “quarrel between people from the settlement”, as happened in the month of May, when another fire affected this area located in the San José Industrial Estate.
The Government Delegate has explained that the arrest of the alleged author has been carried out “by virtue of various testimonies from some of those affected.” Likewise, he has indicated that two people have been slightly injured, although the fire “could have had serious consequences” due to “the toxicity” of the smoke from the material of which the shanties are made, for which they were treated at the hospital and discharged. high, while pointing out that with this arrest “it will be easier to clarify” what happened “as soon as possible.”
Fernández has insisted that the Government “has a commitment” to “improve” the situation experienced by these people who live in substandard housing, which makes it a “vulnerable” space and “without the minimum conditions to give them the dignity that a person deserves.” “.
For their part, firefighters from the Provincial Consortium have reported that they rescued in good condition a family that had been trapped inside the fire, as well as removed several cylinders that had exploded.
Furthermore, they have explained that the fire, with a strong thermal load, occurred in a valley area, “which contributes to the concentration of heat and the fire spreading more quickly” and that the extinguishing efforts have been extended from shortly before midnight this Sunday until approximately 7:00 a.m. this Monday. Three trucks and four firefighters from the San Juan del Puerto park traveled to the area; two trucks and three firefighters from the Aljaraque park and one truck and one firefighter from the Ayamonte and Almonte parks.
The fire, which broke out at 11:00 p.m., has caused extensive material damage and the inhabitants of 200 shacks have lost absolutely everything. The flames ended up devouring everything in their path, affecting 5 hectares of land.
It was the inhabitants themselves who raised the alarm. Emergencies 112 activated the Firefighters, the Civil Guard, the Local Police, the Red Cross, the Health Emergency Center (CES) 061 and INFOCA, which took charge of the situation. Different volunteer organizations already work in the area, as well as municipal Social Services personnel. City council personnel are also carrying out cleaning work and moving embers to extinguish the flames.
