“We’ve been very lucky.” This morning the councilor responsible for Citizen Security of the City Council of Pontevedra, Eva Villaverde, has shown herself so forcefully about the serious fire that started yesterday in the old warehouses of Pontesa, in the Pontevedra parish of Ponte Sampaio, today owned by Grupo Nogar.
Villaverde deeply regrets the current situation with a seriously injured person due to the fire, whom he wished a speedy recovery, but assured that “the consequences could be much more serious and have affected much more population”.
“We find ourselves with a real powder keg with tons of flammable material; ships full of grain, cereal, sunflower seeds… mountains of 15 meters of cereal height without the slightest security measures, without a fire extinguishing system, or hydrants. We had to transport the water and use a carousel of means to have a permanent supply of water in the area. It was a real danger,” said Eva Villaverde, who assured that the possibility of having to confine the neighbors was considered, but finally “the wind helped us.”
No activity license
The councilor of Pontevedra has explained that the City Council does not have any type of municipal activity license for these ships, as well as no change of ownership. At this moment A judicial investigation has been opened to assess the facts and responsibilities. “In addition, the legal services of the Concello are reviewing who is the competent administration to initiate the disciplinary file, since the ships are located in maritime-terrestrial terrain”.
“The judicial police will investigate and see who is responsible. What we know is that there is no activity license for those warehouses from the old Pontesa factory; there is a concession, there is ownership, but no activity license or change of ownership”, Villaverde stated.
Prevention and mobilization of material
Although the situation is now under control, the firefighters remain in the area carrying out control and prevention tasks, as explained by the mayor of Security, who has confirmed that thehe emergency situation has ended giving way to one of racking. The Xunta de Galicia has deactivated at 3:00 p.m. the Territorial Emergency Plan of Galicia (Platerga) due to the situation controlled and without risk to the population.
Remember that, in order to protect yourself and facilitate the work of the intervention teams, it is important to keep the communication routes close to the affected area clear.
In this sense, Villaverde has expressed the urgency to carry out now, by the company, the treatment and mobilization of the materials corresponding, “following all security measures by the company”. “It’s a priority.”
