The first day of spring was a busy one for Merida firefighters, since in just a few hours, three fires occurred in Mérida, which attracted the attention of citizens since the columns of smoke could be seen from miles away.
The first of them occurred around 3:30 in the morning on Thursday, March 21 in a supermarket located in the Xoclán neighborhood of Mérida.
The cause of the incident is still unknown. Authorities suspect it could been caused by vandals, because it started outside in the loading area. The fire then spread to the warehouse, two offices, and the store.
The neighbors noticed the fire and called the authorities through the emergency number 911, so within minutes police were assigned to that area and later Fire Department personnel arrived.
The fire started in a place where several wooden pallets were stacked at the doors of the supermarket, in the warehouse unloading area. The fire quickly spread into the warehouse and reached two offices and an area of the store.
Firefighters worked for several hours at the scene, until around 7 in the morning, when the situation was practically under control.
The police secured the store because it is believed that it could have been caused, since in the area where the wooden pallets were there are no cables or power outlets that could cause the fire.
Neighbors commented that, for several days, a group of vandals had been causing fires in the area. In the early hours of Sunday, they tried to burn down a shoe store located on 128th Avenue and 57th Street, about three blocks from the supermarket, as well as another business located a few meters away.
Hours later, on Thursday afternoon, another fire broke out near the Mérida-Cancun highway.
Shortly after noon, from various places in the city of Mérida, people could see the column of smoke caused by the fire that was consuming tires and weeds, which were behind some warehouses, located near that road.
Agents of the Mexican Army arrived at the scene, as well as personnel from the Fire Department of the Ministry of Public Security (SSP), who were fighting the fire.
The road was closed to traffic while the fire was extinguished.
Finally, a third fire was recorded in Mérida, next to a shopping center in the Altabrisa area.
The information collected indicates that, shortly after noon, it was reported that a batch of cardboard that was accumulated next to an electrical energy register began to catch fire, in the northern part of a shopping center in the area.
Upon noticing the fire, mall staff executed their fire protocols. Department store employees pulled out their hoses and began fighting the fire until firefighters arrived.
TYT Newsroom
