Preparations for the demolition of the ten-story building that burned down on Rua Barão de Duprat, in the area of Rua 25 de Março, known for popular commerce in São Paulo, began today (16th). According to the municipal secretary of Urban Infrastructure and Works, Marcos Monteiro, this Saturday the protection part of the work will begin, with siding and installation of the construction site, which are preliminary services. The work on the interior will be done only after the completion of the expertise.
The secretary spoke to the press after an inspection carried out in the building. “The structure is in good condition or, at least, does not present a risk of immediate rupture, or without warning. This allows forensics to be already inside doing the work,” he explained. He said that it was possible to access all floors of the building and that the structure is well cooled. “We had a doubt as to how far we would be able to reach as a function of temperature, as a function of gases”, he pointed out.
With the release of the expert team, the internal area will be cleaned. “We have a lot of debris, many walls at risk of falling,” he said, noting that it is necessary to provide safety conditions for workers. “We have the masonry situation that is for the lower stores [ao lado], in a more critical situation, then you have to protect it with trays so that a fall does not injure someone who is passing by. Only then does the work begin [de demolição]”, detailed the secretary.
Monteiro also explained that it will not be necessary to use large machinery for the demolition, which will bring less inconvenience to the surroundings. “The demolition will be done with smaller equipment, inside the building,” he explained. He added that some points of the building will be shored up, which were identified by the technicians, which are more delicate. “It won’t be the whole building.” According to the secretary, two stores that are next to the burned building must remain closed.
Fire
The fire on Rua Barão de Duprat started on Sunday (10) around 9 pm and was only extinguished on Thursday (14). There are around 4,200 stores in the area and between 150,000 and 300,000 people circulate daily, depending on the time of year. The fire started on the ground floor of the ten-story building and spread to other properties. Two shops and part of the building of the Antiochian Orthodox Parish of the Annunciation to Our Lady were destroyed. It is the first Orthodox church in Brazil and dates from 1904.
