During the first hours of this Thursday, the fire that held the residents of the southern area of Gran La Plata in check was finally contained. Several teams of firefighters fought the fires in the meadows, which since yesterday afternoon have affected a large sector delimited between Arana and Parque Sicardi.
As this newspaper found, the situation began to worsen after 7pm, when the fire began to move from one country to another at a dizzying rate. This required the addition of more firefighters to the operation, which began with dozens of 911 calls made by neighbors desperate due to the advance of large flames.
The official report indicates that at 5:15 pm yesterday, the request for cooperation from the Villa Elvira firefighters entered via 103 into a budding fire in the rear southeast area of the airport, in zones 15 and 630. Up to then two community patrol vehicles were sent to cooperate with the firefighting tasks.
That is why, given the scale of the fire, more personnel was required and a third vehicle was present, for which a total of 10 officers joined the operation.
As for the personnel of the Fire Brigade, there were about 60 firefighters on site, including personnel from all the barracks in the La Plata district, from the Gutiérrez barracks and personnel from the firefighters. It was reported that 4 fire engines, a tanker and 5 quick coupler vans were at work. The staff of the Ecological Police Department with 2 vehicles and the Special Risks Department also participated.
According to official sources, “it was a priority that the fire did not reach the area of the houses surrounding the property and therefore the main fulcrum was attacked from two points, which reached 1,300 meters ahead”. They also claimed that one attack was carried out through “the deployment of water lines and another with backpacks and forest whips”.
They later revealed that the main drawback was the access of the pumps and the consequent distance from the fire. “Several sections of the line had to be coupled to arrive from the position where the fire engine could access the fire place”, said the experts, who added: “Then came a motor grader and a backhoe loader from the Garibaldian delegation. Sicardi, which made it possible to pave the way for the repositioning of the fire engines and facilitate the extinguishing work. These machines also created fire doors to limit the fire “.
The Argentine Red Cross was present on site with staff from the local branch and Headquarters, which provided hydration and set up an emergency room. Around midnight, as reported, the fire was controlled and the hot spots on the perimeter were cooled, ending around 0:30.
