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Castro Marim residents disgusted by lack of support

Dr Photo - CASTRO MARIM RESIDENTS DISGUSTED BY LACK OF SUPPORTResidents of the municipality of Castro Marim have been complaining about the lack of support from the firefighters and the lack of piped water to fight the fire that began on Monda, reliving the memory of the 2004 fire.

For around 40 hours, the fire that started in Castro Marim around 1am on Monday, spreading to Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, has consumed more than 9,000 hectares of forest, agricultural and bush land, plus some real estate.

A journey through the country roads from Odeleite (Castro Marim), where the dam used for refueling is located, and the National Forest of Conceição (Tavira) – one of the ‘hot spots’ indicated by the Civil Protection, gives a comprehensive overview of the impact of the flames.

In the town of Cortelha, Castro Marim, there is a building that was almost completely consumed by the fire: a warehouse for storing cereals, carobs and other agricultural products that the owners saw disappear in minutes.
Local resident, Ms. Natália, who, inconsolable and in tears, tells what she experienced and shows how little is left. She reveals that the figs, almonds, carobs, several hundred kilos of cereals and all the material she took to sell in the market have disappeared. “Everything burned”.

Smoke is still visible coming out of one of the warehouse’s divisions, where a forklift lies next to a door ajar and contorted by the heat. The rest of the rooms no longer have a roof and on the black floor it is difficult to identify whatever has been there.

“The fire was down there, but the firefighters didn’t put it out there, nor here, and after everything was on fire they came and poured a little water. It ended, they left and it continued to burn”, says Ms Natália. In the area, now without water, they were still able to “take some of the cars out”, but a van rests on fire in front of the warehouse. “Another truck in the back also burned down,” says son Nelson.

“Everything burned, we were left with only our clothes. The materials and money are gone. My father only works with cash, ”, says Nelson. As the business is buying and selling to small producers, “they prefer cash”. He does not reveal the amount lost, but claims that “I could buy a house, a big one”.

The conversation takes a different tone when Manuel Pereira, a neighbour, accuses the firefighters of “having done little or nothing” and claims that there were 12 fire engines in a square “just over 100 metres away” but they “let this house burn”.
“I was here, they were lying in the cars, not getting anything done. Everything was on fire, taken by the flames. The man (the warehouse owner) was lying there on the road…”, he recalls, ina choked voice, saying that the fire crew told him that “they had no order to go out”.

The indignation is evident in other groups or local residents, who report similar situations in other places, taking advantage of the presence of some members of the municipality to “say what has to be said”.

“We did exactly the same thing as in the 2004 fire. It was the same thing. The firefighters didn’t show up in 2004 and now it’s the same”, they say.

Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/