Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Hundreds of fish were found dead in mangroves near the Alemoa (Photo: Robynson Senhoraes)
Four days after the fire had started in an industrial area of Santos , on the coast of São Paulo, hundreds of dead fish have been photographed in mangroves and channels of county residents. According to the Secretary of the Environment, Patricia Iglecias, still can not pinpoint the cause of fish death, however recommends that the population does not consume them as a precaution. A sample has been sent to São Paulo and the test results should be released in the coming days.
The fire at Ultracargo company began around 10 am Thursday (2) and hit six fuel tanks, and, around 14h on Sunday (5), three remained on fire. The temperature at the location reaches 800 ° C. There is still no deadline for the completion of the work. So far, firefighters used nearly five billion liters of sea water to fight the fire.
Fire officials said no one died in the fire. At least 15 people working on site, including employees and firefighters, needed care as inhaled smoke. All were released.
The Secretary of the Environment, Patricia Iglecias warned the public about the appearance of dead fish in the region. Although I can not say whether there is a relationship between the animals and the fire, she recommends that people do not consume fish. “The Cetesb is monitoring the accident from the start and in fact dead fish were found. They were collected and now is being made an analysis because it is not possible to say at the outset that there is a relationship between the death of the fish and the problem of the accident. People should not consume these fish, it can be a health problem, “says Secretary of Environment Patricia Iglecias.
An operation conducted jointly with Petrobras, will be held in the coming hours. The company released new equipment that makes the mixture of water with a chemical that generates foam to try to fight the blaze. “An equipment of the army was also made available. It can measure airborne particles and is coming by plane from Rio de Janeiro. Regardless, the Cetesb are already doing this work in the city, plus the objective of this new equipment is to further increase this analysis with regard to the prevention and cause people do not run any risk, “the state coordinator of Civil Defense, José Roberto Rodrigues de Oliveira.
The Mayor of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, Paulo Alexandre Barbosa, sought to reassure the population of the city in connection with a possible evacuation due to fire and requested support from the Federal Government, which also will provide a Petrobras offshore to pump water. “We had a Petrobras truck, now we have three more trucks coming in addition to three other aid equipment. The monitoring showed that at that time would not need these new features, but it is not the situation now. The time has changed, which does not means a worsening “he explains.
Firefighters continue to work on fire in Alemoa (Photo: Sergio Furtado / G1)
The Government of the State of São Paulo installed on Saturday a crisis office to monitor and take action with respect to fire. Part of office the deputy governor of São Paulo, Márcio France, secretaries Saulo de Castro (Government), José Roberto Rodrigues de Oliveira (Military House), Alexandre de Moraes (Public Safety) and Patricia Iglecias (Environment), as well the commander of the Fire Department, Marco Aurelio Alves Pinto, and Communication Secretary, Marcio Aith. Also participate in the cabinet the Mayor of Santos, Paulo Alexandre Barbosa, the Medium Secretariat representatives Environment and Civil Defense of the city, besides the Environmental Sanitation Technology Company (CETESB).
According to the deputy governor, the creation of the crisis cabinet was a request from the governor Geraldo Alckmin. “The function of this office is to centralize decisions for 24 hours a day. We want to integrate the three spheres of government control,” said Márcio France.
According to the Civil Defense Cubatao, duty teams are monitoring the city, as the flames and smoke are directed to the city. On Friday (3), two people triggered the complaining soot authorities in Casqueiro Jardim region. The emergency health care units in the city have not received any cases related to possible effects of smoke from the fire.
Fish were found dead in a swamp near the Alemoa (Photo: Rafaella Martinez / Staff Archive)
The Secretary of the Environment, Patricia Iglecias warned the public about the appearance of dead fish in the region. Although I can not say whether there is a relationship between the animals and the fire, she recommends that people do not consume fish.
Since the night of Friday, the City of Santos sends messages via SMS or voice for 466,000 registered mobile phones and landlines at the municipal administration. In the message, residents were warned that the fire in Alemoa neighborhood was under control and that the Society of Environmental Sanitation Technology continuously monitors air quality, and warn that the incident did not offer risks to the population.
The commander of the operation, Wagner Bertollini Junior stressed that the tanks have a system to remove the fuel, however it did not work. Some tanks arrived to melt from the heat. Firefighters use water and foam to soften the temperature. “The systems were damaged and the tanks are emptied and can not be underneath. So they are in a situation almost surreal because they are still full around a tank on fire. This is our great difficulty,” he says.
Access vessels to areas around the fire at Ultracargo had to be limited after the fire spread. “Santos terminals close to the fire are closed and the channel that gives access to Cubatao terminals was also blocked for security reasons, since it is narrow,” concludes Captain Ricardo Gomes Navy.
Cooling tanks
According to firefighters, the focus of the work is in the cooling tanks that have not been achieved. The average temperature in the fire main focus is around 800 ° C. Because of the heat, firefighters are at a distance of 100 meters from the site of the fire to contain the fire. The water is not directed to the flames as the liquid evaporates before reaching the ground because of the heat.
The Internet user Josilayne Carvalho recorded one of the blasts on site (see video below). At about 18:10 on Thursday, another explosion caused rush among media professionals and firefighters, who had to reposition itself.
The Society of São Paulo State Dock (Codesp) reports that the affected area is outside Porto and sent his Brigade of the Port Fire Guard to help fight the fire. But the fire department says teams of Mobile Emergency Service (SAMU), the Civil Defence, Sabesp and military police also accompany the work.
Because of the fire, the entrance to the Port of Santos, the Via Anchieta, was closed. Six vessels were moored at both ends near the scene of the fire interroperam their operations and were removed from the region. A company, which is 2 km from the fire scene, issued a warning to the staff leave the area because of the risk of being hit by debris if there is a big explosion.
According to the investigation report, 93 firefighters working on site, with 22 vehicles support, and eight of them were sent from the state capital.
The company
The place where the fire occurs houses 175 tanks capacity of up to 10,000 m³ each in an area of 183,871 m². Ultracargo has A 58 tanks with a capacity of up to 6 million liters, and stores products such as fuels, oils, vegetable, ethanol, and corrosive chemicals.
Fire struck fuel tanks; temperature at the site is 800 ° C (Photo: Paulo Whitaker / Reuters)
Courtesy of g1.globo.com
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
