For now, “there is no record” of injuries and the causes of the fire that broke out and completely destroyed the Pingo Doce warehouse in São Martinho are still to be determined. The information was provided, this evening, by the councilor of the Funchal Chamber, Bruno Pereira, who is at the scene monitoring the fight against the flames.
“The security company in charge of the warehouse says that all the employees who were working left. Therefore, we do not have any type of report of any situation. No injuries either from the firefighters”, said the mayor.
The causes of the fire are still unknown and Bruno Pereira said it will be up to “the right investigation authorities”. On the other hand, he explained that the flames and black smoke that are clearly visible from a distance result from the insulation material of the cold rooms. “Given the materials in combustion, it is really a more difficult fight. But we have the means, either vehicles, water and sufficient human resources so that everything can happen normally”, he explained, adding that there are no large dangerous installations, such as gas. “The resources are all in place and we are making every effort to limit the fire to this space. To the south there are houses, but at the moment there is no danger of the fire passing there. But those houses have been evacuated”, added the responsible for the municipal civil protection.
On site are those responsible for the Regional Civil Protection Service and the regional secretary for Health and Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos. Firefighters from Funchal, Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters and the corporations of Câmara de Lobos and Santa Cruz were mobilized to fight the flames. The municipal services reinforced the network of hydrants to guarantee the inflow of water to fight the flames and the Electricity Company of Madeira assigned technicians to carry out any power cuts that prove necessary.