The City Council asks the company in charge of the premises to find relocation for the families and hopes that they can provide a solution «tomorrow»
The Mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, specified that three communities of neighbors, affected by the fire declared on Tuesday in a local on Avenida del Puerto, will not have basic services in the coming days due to damage to the building’s pipes. For this reason, residents of a «maximum» of 56 homes are advised not to return to their houses.
She indicated this on Wednesday afternoon, in statements to the media, after meeting with the neighbors affected by the fire that occurred in a TEDI store, a company that the city council is working with to provide housing solutions for those affected.
Out of eight communities of neighbors, three have problems with the pipes and, for the time being, residents are advised not to live there due to the poor condition of the pipes. In two of the three affected communities, there are problems with the terraces on the first floor, which need to be evaluated.
Specifically, the pipes of the community of neighbors facing Peris Brell Street, another one facing Muñiz and Hermanos de Alba, and a third one located at Avenida del Puerto number 123 are damaged. «Essential services may take days or weeks to function, we don’t know yet, this is already a technical matter,» Catalá said.
«We have been working all day from the City Council trying to help the neighbors, and we have worked a lot on the issue of supplies so that as many communities as possible, the least affected ones, have electricity, water, and gas, those that did not have damage to the pipes basically,» explained the mayor.
Catalá assured that the City Council is coordinating with the building administrators and with the company in charge of the premises where the fire originated to «try to provide a solution for the people who will not be able to return to their homes in the coming days, which will be a maximum of 56 homes out of 112.»
In addition, the mayor explained that TEDI has informed the council that they «take responsibility for the situation.» Catalá hopes that «tomorrow they can provide a solution.» «While the insurance companies of the communities and of each of the homes are reaching agreements and conducting assessments, what we have asked the company is to try to find a stable housing solution for these neighbors in the coming weeks,» she stated.
The mayor clarified that at this moment, access to the interior block of the buildings is not possible for cleaning because the forensic police will finish their work on Thursday.
When asked if the rest of the neighbors will be able to sleep in their homes, Catalá explained that yes, except for the ground floors of two specific buildings and the three communities where the lack of services makes it «difficult.»
HELP WITH INSURANCE MANAGEMENT
María José Catalá stated that the City Council wants to help families «as much as possible» in the process of managing their insurance policies. Therefore, she informed the neighbors that the office set up at the Universitat Popular park for assistance is «permanently open,» and throughout the week, they will find City Council technicians, professionals from the Bar Association specialized in civil liability and insurance to provide free advice.
