FIREFIGHTERS ANNOUNCEMENT
The Meritorious Fire Department of the Republic of Panama (BCBRP) clarified through a statement that it is not true that occupancy permits are granted to buildings that do not meet safety standards.
Colonel Abdiel Solís, general director of the BCBRP, referred to the explosion in a building on Calle 54 Obarrio and stressed that the building is new and had an occupation permit; However, he clarified that there are pieces that can be damaged, which does not imply that the occupation permit had been granted and did not have adequate security. When an occupation permit is granted, it is because it complies with all the standards required by the NFPA standard,” said Solís.
Once the emergency call was received, firefighting teams, long ladder and rescue trucks, and an ambulance arrived at the building where the explosion occurred at 7:30 AM.
Solís indicated that the building of the incident cannot be occupied until the investigations are completed and debris and glass cleaning work is being carried out.
Approximately 600 evacuated people from the Urbana building (where the explosion occurred) and from other nearby buildings, including commercial premises, who received proper medical attention. So far, 20 injuries have been reported, of which one is in critical condition at the Santo Tomás Hospital.
Likewise, minors have been treated to provide them with food, equipment and medicines.
Carla García, Governor of Panama, reported that on the instructions of the President of the Republic Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, she coordinated with several institutions to provide support with belongings, lodging and food to the affected people who require it.
Garcia explained that there are 6 people with disabilities who will be served by the National Secretariat for Disability (Senadis). Approximately 300 people must be transferred to multi-family homes and others will go to relatives’ homes.
An inter-institutional team from the security forces, made up of the BCBRP, the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), the National Police and the Red Cross evaluated the effects of the shock wave caused by the explosion. For security reasons, 6 buildings were evacuated on the same street 54 Obarrio, another located on a corner that was not affected and the Urbana building.
A team from the Meritorious Fire Department of the Republic of Panama, and Criminalistics personnel from the Public Ministry are carrying out the investigations and Sinaproc are carrying out the investigations.
Major Ángel Delgado, director of Related Calamities of the BCBRP, clarified that a few weeks ago there was a situation in a building located in front of the damaged property. “It was confirmed that it was a piece that was repaired by the administration of that building, so it is important to note that the damaged building did not have any problems in previous days,” said Delgado.
Adjacent buildings have been checked and found to have no problem with gas distribution systems. The BCBRP did not receive any calls yesterday or in the early hours of this Tuesday, reporting any alert for an alleged gas leak or related to the explosion.
For the safety of the officials conducting the investigations, it has not been possible to access all the points of the building where the explosion occurred, to determine the origin of the explosion.
Delgado indicated that the building is new and has its occupation permit, so “it is important to see if any work was being carried out or if there was any situation that was not announced by the neighbors.” No hypothesis is ruled out and investigations will determine the causes of the explosion.
According to Delgado, a 25-pound cylinder of gas must be exposed to high temperatures for it to cause an explosion, so it is unlikely that a gas tank would have exploded.
Participating in the press conference were Carla García, Governor of Panama; Colonel Abdiel Solís, director general of the Meritorious Fire Department of the Republic of Panama; and Carlos Rumbo, general director of the National Civil Protection System.
