Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 3:40 p.m.
A cigarette butt would have unleashed the fire that has already affected a large part of the property. //Photos: Natalia Guerrero.
A cigarette butt would have unleashed the fire that has already affected a large part of the property. //Photos: Natalia Guerrero.
Four fire departments work against the clock to put out a large fire that broke out in a sawmill in the Luis Piedrabuena neighborhood of Posadas.
It was advancing rapidly towards a large part of the property of the logging enterprise known as El Japonés, of around two hectares.
Neighbors who live nearby are concerned about the possibility of the fire reaching their homes if it is not controlled in time by the brigade members.
During these hours, the flames affect the outdoor area surrounding the main warehouse, where the machines and operators work. It seeks to prevent them from reaching that point.
In other sectors, some workers collaborate with the firefighters moving logs that are stacked – to get them out of the path of the fire – while the others, with buckets, try to cool the burned areas to avoid new sources.
Regarding what could have started the fire, the main hypothesis advances the possibility that from some of the trucks that went to load sawdust for the oil mills, after noon, they threw a lit cigarette butt.
“It seems to me that from a truck that came to load shavings one of the people threw a (cigarette) butt or surely as a result of a spark from the truck,” said Claudio, the owner’s son, although he will only have certainty about that with the expertise from the fire brigade, once the fire is extinguished. “Generally the oleros come to look for shavings,” he clarified.
Beyond the fire, smoke makes the job of firefighters difficult. Many dry trunks complete a complicated picture.
