A fire broke out this Friday afternoon (23) in a vegetation area in the upper part of Morro do Sapo, one of the communities that make up the Complexo do Alemão, in Rio de Janeiro. The flames and smoke spread quickly, due to the drought that has hit the capital in recent days.
According to the Fire Department, the fire started at 2:34 pm, after residents set fire to vegetation.
Teams from the Ramos fire station were the first to arrive at the scene, but reinforcements were later received from the Penha station.
As it is located in the upper part of the community, firefighters had more work to do to access the area. The residents themselves tried to put out the fire with buckets of water, but the effort was insufficient.
According to the Fire Department, at 5:36 pm the fire had been controlled and did not reach the houses in the upper part of the community.
The Alemão Complex has 12 residents’ associations that represent 13 favelas: Alvorada, Baiana, Casinhas, Esperança, Grota, Itararé, Matinha, Mineiros, Morro do Adeus, Morro do Alemão, Nova Brasília, Pedra do Sapo and Reservoir de Ramos. According to the 2022 Census, carried out by the IBGE, the Alemão Complex has almost 55 thousand residents.