According to information provided to Luza by the municipal civil protection, the building that broke out in a fire that killed two people in the Muraria district of Lisbon remains without living conditions a month after the fire.
On the night of February 4, a fire that broke out in a crowded block on the first floor of Rua do Terreirinho killed two Indians, one of whom was a 14-year-old boy, and 14 were injured. Of the 22 IDPs, 10 continue to receive housing after the rest have found a solution on their own.
Two days after the fire, the Municipal Civil Protection Service conducted an inspection of the state of preservation of the building and concluded that the structural part of the building was not damaged, but the property did not meet the living conditions.
A month later, according to information provided to Lusa by the director of the Municipal Civil Protection Service (CMPS) Margarida Castro Martins, the basic living conditions – water, electricity and gas – have not yet been restored.
“[Os proprietários] They are waiting for the execution of the company’s budget and at the same time resolving issues with involved insurers,” he said.
Regarding the situation of the displaced, a source from Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa told Lusa that two households, each with three people, are housed in temporary emergency houses of the Lisbon City Council.
Four more isolated people are placed in a boarding house with the support of Santa Casa, one of whom is integrated into the labor market.
“The rest are in the documentation business and are in the process of actively looking for work,” the same source said.
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa “continues to provide psychosocial support to people who were referred to the facility after the fire, working with other organizations to meet their basic needs.”
According to information provided by the authorities at the time, 25 people were injured in the fire in this building – 24 residents and one non-resident.
The Lisbon Civil Protection later confirmed that two Belgians, two Argentines, two Portuguese, three Bengalis and 15 Indians lived in the house. Most residents will live on the ground floor, but authorities have not confirmed their number.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and is being investigated by the judicial police.
The Lisbon municipality indicated that the part where the fire broke out was a rental property, explaining that each of the building’s eight parts has an owner – all individuals – and that three are registered local accommodation businesses.
According to SIC and CNN Portugal, the owner of the overcrowded space where the fire broke out, who declined to be named, said she had entered into a commercial lease (for the store) for 750 per month and said she did not know the space was subleased.
With a crowded house at stake, the incident led to a public discussion of the living conditions of immigrants and the current difficulties in the housing market in Portugal, especially in metropolitan areas, as well as the responsibilities of various levels of government.
Santa Maria Mayor parish council chairman Miguel Coelho acknowledged the local reality of “overcrowding in most houses”.
“There are many houses in this part of the city and in the parish that are inhabited by immigrant citizens. It can be seen that the development of space is underway, the intensive economic exploitation of these spaces,” he stressed.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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