The prompt intervention of the Lagos Volunteer Firefighters prevented the fire which, this Saturday afternoon, at around 17:30 pm, was detected in the «Boa Esperança» caravel from causing damage to the vessel, which is moored next to the Marina de Lagos.
Paulo Reis, commander of the Fire Department of Lagos, told the Sul Informação which the black smoke that, in the middle of the afternoon, started to come out of the hatch of the replica of the XNUMXth-century caravel was caused by a refrigerator, which had suffered “a probable short-circuit”.
The firefighters "removed the refrigerator from the interior of the caravel and it was not even necessary to use extinguishing material", guaranteed the commander. When the report from our newspaper arrived at the scene, the operatives were already collecting the material, while on board there were still elements of the Maritime Police, which is the authority with jurisdiction.
As for the damage to the interior of the caravel, Paulo Reis said that "it will be necessary to buy a new refrigerator and paint the kitchen, which was black with smoke."
On the spot, the commander of the caravel «Boa Esperança» was visibly nervous. recently arrived from a three-month trip through the Mediterranean ports of Spain.
“We covered a thousand miles in three months, visiting several Spanish ports. The last one was near Almeria», he told our newspaper, relieved.
João Fernandes, vice-president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), the entity that owns the caravel, made a point of saying that «the firefighters are to be congratulated, because they had a very quick reaction, making all this nothing more than a brave one. fright'.
In statements to the Sul Informação, João Fernandes stressed that the RTA «is currently in negotiations with the Câmara de Lagos and the Marina de Lagos, to carry out a project that guarantees regular and permanent activity for Good Hope, while it is docked here».
The project involves promoting visits on board, rental of space for events, with entertainment, and even overnight stays on board the caravel.
When, more than 500 years ago, Portuguese caravels sailed the seas in search of new worlds, many of them will have been consumed by flames, but certainly none due to a short circuit in the on-board refrigerator…
Comments