Cidade do Samba hit by devastating fire

I'm kicking this blog back into gear today, two weeks before my next Carnaval trip to Rio, to report a devastating fire at the Cidade do Samba. The Cidade do Samba is the sprawling ring-shaped complex where all 12 Grupo Especial escolas build their magnificent floats and store most of their costumes. Early this morning, it was hit by a fire that badly affected three escolas, destroying all but one of Grande Rio's floats and 90% of their costumes; one float and the bateria, baiana, and 2nd-flag-couple costumes of União da Ilha (the "miracle escola" from Grupo A that just managed to hang on to its spot in Grupo Especial last year, due to the unexpected fall of Viradouro); and unspecified damage to Portela and the museum maintained by the Carnaval organizing group LIESA. Very fortunately, there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

It is less than a month till the Carnaval parades. LIESA is in heated discussion now about whether to alter the parade, and, particularly, whether to suspend the usual rule that demotes the losing escola down to Grupo de Aceso - since the loser is now very likely to be Grande Rio.

I have seen escolas rebuild to an astonishing degree in just one week after losing floats and costumes to fire, but Grande Rio has lost quite a lot. In my circles Grande Rio is sort of the escola everyone loves to hate, but I think they will get quite an ovation if they can put together any kind of parade at all after this.

My translation of O Globo's first report today is below. Related articles to follow soon.

********
HUGE FIRE HITS CIDADE DO SAMBA IN GAMBOA
by: Alice Fernandes, Rafael Galdo & Waleska Borges

Barely a month before Carnaval, a huge fire hit the Cidade do Samba, in the district of Gamboa, on Monday morning. The warehouses of Portela, União da Ilha, Grande Rio, and of Liesa (which maintains a museum of Carnaval), were hit by flames. General Commander of the firefighters Pedro Marco Cruz Macado said that by early afternoon the fire in the Cidade do Samba was under control and that only small fires were remaining. According to him, the firefighters had been fighting the fire since 7:30am. He said, as well, that no fault was found in the fire suppression system. He criticized the placement of a barbeque (churrasqueria) within the Portela warehouse, especially since the area is full of flammable materials.

According to firefighter Alexandre Rocha, the area is still closed until the Civil Defense can evaluate the building. A 30-year-old man was admitted to Souza Aguiar for smoke inhalation. He is doing well and is under observation.

Warehouse workers said, however, that the "sprinklers" [English] - little anti-fire water showers - did not work. About 80 men participated in the operation, with 20 fire trucks from seven firehouses. According to Alexander Rocha, the Cidade do Samba's annual fire inspection had not yet occurred this year. He also said that there is still a risk of more collapses.

According to witnesses, at least 60 people were inside the complex. The flames spread especially rapidly because of the large quantity of flammable materials. An enormous column of smoke, more than 500 meters tall, could be seen from as far as Niteroi. Passing motorists felt the effects of the smoke. The nearby elevated highway of Perimetral had slowed traffic due to rubber-necking by passing drivers.

The entire area of the enormous Cidade do Samba was closed, with firemen and ambulances arriving constantly. Part of the roof and part of the warehouse of Grande Rio collapsed. It is still not known what caused the fire, nor where it began. According to Portela workers, the fire started between 7:00 and 7:30am in the warehouse of União da Ilha. Yet workers from Ilha said that the fire started in the first warehouse, on the fourth floor, which is Liesa's. According to them, the flames descended through a hole through which the sculptures [the tallest parts of the parade floats] passed, and hit the Ilha float called the "Spider". The fourth floor is the sewing workshop and holds their costumes.

According to early reports, six of Grande Rio's floats and 90% of Grande Rio's costumes were destroyed. One worker from that escola jumped from the fourth to the third floor of the warehouse during the fire. 26-year-old aderecista [decorator, adornment-maker] Saimon Garcia said that he could not get down the stairs. He fell on top of a float and suffered only a few scratches. "The pain is nothing. What we've lost is millions and all of our work."

In União da Ilha, only the spider float was destroyed. The others were pulled out of warehouse just in time. Portela's workers have still not moved their floats. One group of aderecistas who were sleeping in Portela's warehouse described how they ran down the stairs. On the fourth floor were the fantasias [elaborate costumes] of the bateria, the second couple of mestre-sala and porta-bandeira, and the baianas. Several of the school's workers were in tears over the loss of these costumes.

União da Ilha had just moved to this warehouse this year. The escola had previously occupied the warehouse of São Clemente, but chose to move to the warehouse vacated by Viradouro, which was sent down [demoted from Grupo Especial] last year. The new warehouse had a superior infrastructure. In 1999, one month before Carnaval, União da Ilha was also hit by a fire. The escola succeeded in rebuilding its parade, with the theme "Barbosa Lima, 102 anos do sobrinho do Brasil", and paraded. In that year, the group finished in tenth place.

Over the weekend, the warehouse of the escola Alegria da Zona Sula, in Grupo de Acesso, also had to be evacuated due to a fire. [this warehouse is in a totally different location, not part of the Cidade do Samba complex.]

***
photos: