Two fires reported this Tuesday in the abandoned warehouses of the old Simon factory, on Barcelona street in Girona, forced the mobilization of Firefighters, the SEM, the Municipal Police and the Mossos d'Esquadra. The first was detected around three in the morning and the second, a few hours later, shortly before seven in the evening. In both cases it was necessary to evacuate the people who were inside the building.
First early morning fire with five treated for smoke
The first warning arrived at dawn. Eight fire brigades moved to the old Simon, who upon arrival found an already developed fire with two foci inside the warehouse. The flames affected an old forklift and were moving towards the ground floor of the building.
The fire forced the evacuation of ten people who were inside the building. The SEM attended to five people for smoke inhalation, although none of them required hospital admission. Once the ventilation tasks were completed and the space secured, the evacuees were able to re-enter.
New fire in the afternoon on the second floor
The second incident occurred shortly before seven in the evening. On this occasion, Bombers was alerted because a mattress was burning on the second floor of the building. Upon the arrival of the teams, they verified that the smoke also affected the second and third floors.
The second fire forced a new eviction of about fifteen people who still remained inside the warehouses. The intervention was resolved in half an hour and there were no injuries.
"The service has lasted half an hour and neither in this second fire have injuries been registered" - Firefighters
Once the operation was completed, all the dislodged were able to return to the property.
A space pending definitive eviction
The abandoned warehouses of the old Simon have been dragging on for months a conflictive situation. In early March, the Girona City Council approved initiating the process to evict 25 homeless people who habitually spend the night on the premises. The council wants to free up the space to undertake its renovation, since the new Comtessa Ermessenda institute must be built there.
When the definitive eviction is approved, the affected people will have ten working days to leave the property, although they may present allegations. In recent months, the situation in these warehouses on Carrer Barcelona had already generated neighborhood complaints, several fires and police interventions, a context to which these two new fires in a single day are now added.