A fire broke out on Monday afternoon in the centuries-old pavilions of the D. Carlos I park in Caldas da Rainha.
is already in the process of being settled, with damage limited to the attic and roof, the chamber said.
“At the moment, the flames are gone and the attic with wooden structures that are more than 100 years old has burned down, leaving the building without a roof,” Caldas da Rainha Chamber president Vitor Marques (independent) told the Lusa news agency. .
The flames broke out at 16:40 in one of the wings of the central block of the pavilions of the D. Carlos I Park, in a building located next to the old House of Culture and Seu de Vidro.
“The floor was also completely wooden, it is not yet known whether it burned down, but it is already known that the fire did not spread to the lower floors and what condition they may be in,” the president added, emphasizing that “the fire was limited to this wing” and not spread to the rest and remaining pavilions of the century-old complex.
Vítor Márquez told Lusa that “the situation will be monitored and a technical expertise will be required” to assess the condition of the century-old buildings, which are part of the thermal heritage owned by the state and concessioned to the Chamber at the end of 2015.
In 2017, the pavilions were granted concession to the municipality of Visabeira, which is expected to build a five-star hotel there.
“Looking at it in its purest form, the only thing it doesn’t have is a roof, everything else remains the same,” the mayor said, noting that the fire shouldn’t make the project unfeasible.
According to the commander of the operations department of the Western Sub-Regional Command, Mikael Pereira, 43 personnel supported by 14 vehicles extinguished the fire.
According to the same person in charge, despite the fact that the pavilions are located in the historical area of Caldas da Rainha, “not a single house was at risk.”
The park pavilions were designed at the end of the 19th century by Rodrigo Berco as the new hospital of Carlos I.
The project included the construction of seven pavilions intended for infirmaries, a 55-meter-long gallery and bathrooms.
Berko died before the project was completed, and the pavilions never fulfilled this function, having served as military barracks, a police station, and a high school for over 100 years.
They are currently deactivated.