One week after the explosion of a building on Leyenda Patria street, there is still much work to be done in the area. In addition to the investigation being carried out by Firefighters, there are more operations underway and, among them, the recovery of the rest of the houses that suffered collateral damage stands out.
Key in this repair process is the work of the glassworks which, since Friday, receive non-stop queries. “We have seven lines and they were red hot all day”, said the owner of the Bia glass shop.
Yoselin Bia maintained, in an interview with Coffee & Business, that the work on the day of the accident was very hard. “People were super distressed,” she said, explaining that Although the companies in the sector wanted to help as many people as possible, there were places where one could go to solve the problem of broken glass, but there were also others where access was prevented due to security issues.
“We had clients who were more than eight blocks away from the building, and their windows exploded”, recounted Bia. Since these breaks could be fixed—for the most part, quickly— companies in the sector worked overtime to help the residents of Villa Biarritz. For example, on Friday there were employees placing glass until midnight.
For the week that passed, glass workers had planned a large number of repairs in the area -in fact, every day they had between eight and ten technical visits-, and Although several changes of glass were made, the weather did not accompany the work of the glaziers. “This week was very humid and rainy, so it was not possible to work safely with large glass plates,” Bia explained.
In this sense, he pointed out that there are buildings in which logistics complicate the work and that is why it may take longer. For example, those with large windows that must be climbed outside the building because they do not fit in the elevators.
For now the glassworks is working with three buildings in the area, and already has a placement scheme scheduled for more clients next week.
Asked about the time for the recovery of the Villa Biarritz buildings, Bia explained that some houses suffered damage to the openings added to the breakage of the glass and in these cases the repair is more complex because it requires manufacturing from scratch. “That depends on the carpentry, so it may take a little longer,” he said. Then he added: “All the people are working, and as quickly as possible, but Depending on the damage to the building, there are many things that will be able to be resolved in the next few days and there are others that will take at least a month.”.
“Luckily there are many companies working to provide a solution, because it would be impossible for just one,” Bia said in an interview with Coffee & Business.
As for the cost of repairs, Bia said that it is very difficult to give a number because a glass of one square meter is not the same as a window of two by three meters. In addition to size, it also depends on logistics and breakage; if it is only glass or glass and opening. “There is no parameter, because the damage was very different,” he said.
safe glasses
Bia believes that the building explosion is an opportunity to cRaise awareness about the type of glass that is placed in the openings.
“Currently glass is very important in architecture,” he said. And he explained that they are not only used on windows that are getting bigger and bigger, but also on roofs, floors, railings and in places where there is a risk of impact. Then It is important to choose a safe glass that, in case of breaking, does not cause injuries like those of traditional glass.
“It is an opportunity to raise awareness, and replace with safe glass”he concluded.
