LIMA, March 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of firefighters battled a major fire affecting several buildings in the historic center of Peru’s capital Lima for a second day Wednesday.
The fire broke out Monday in a warehouse operating without a permit in a building in the Barrios Altos district, spreading to neighboring buildings, four of which collapsed, the fire service and local media said.
With insufficient water hydrants hampering efforts to extinguish the blazes, the “fire may continue until Sunday,” Carlos Malpica, a city fire chief, told reporters at the scene.
Families were evacuated from houses among the burning buildings, many fleeing with fridges, chairs and mattresses.
No injuries or deaths have been reported, but a dozen families have suffered damages, according to municipal official Mario Casaretto.
“There are warehouses all around us. We are running against the clock (to save) the houses,” resident Zulli Cabanillas, one of those who had to evacuate her home, said.
Residents were urged to wear masks because of the plumes of toxic smoke, visible several kilometers away.
Malpica said firefighters needed access to eight to ten times more water than the available hydrants could provide.
Inflatable tanks were brought to the scene and filled with water tankers, but this was still not enough, he said.
The building where the fire started, as well as others burning around it, had all been converted into warehouses without the required permits, according to the municipality. — NNN-AGENCIES
