Residents and businesses around the Roma Building, in Montes Claros, in the North of Minas Gerais, had authorization from the Fire Department and Civil Defense to return to the location late this Tuesday afternoon (23/4). They had to leave the region on April 8, when the building was closed due to the risk of collapse. Residents of Edifício Roma are still unable to return and have no estimate on when they will be able to occupy the apartments again. Traffic in the region was also released.
Permission for residents to return to the area around the building was announced by the Fire Department after issuing a report, signed by an independent expert, which attested to the stability of the structure. The specialist was hired by Construtora Turano, responsible for the building, following a recommendation from the State Public Ministry (MPMG). However, the Fire Department reported that the building continues to be monitored for “tilt”, “plumb” and the evolution of cracks, admitting that the area could be isolated again if “any change” occurs in relation to the risk of collapse.
Also this Tuesday, prosecutor Felipe Gustavo Gonçalves Caires, from the Montes Claros Consumer Protection Prosecutor’s Office, recommended that the municipality’s Civil Defense carry out a technical inspection of all buildings built by the same construction company in the last three years, to assess the stability of structures. The inspection should be completed within the next 15 days.
On the afternoon of April 8, residents of the high-end Edifício Roma, located between the Cândida Câmara and São Luiz neighborhoods (middle class region of the city) had to leave their homes in a hurry after the building presented structural problems. . More than one pillar was compromised, one of which showed signs of buckling (buckling) in the hardware. Anyone living in the area within a radius of 60 meters around the building was also evacuated.
According to information from the Fire Department, 127 people left the isolated area, 82 of whom were from around the building and 45 residents of the Roma Building, which has a total of 20 floors, 16 of which are dedicated to apartments. They were housed in four hotels in the city, with accommodation expenses paid by the construction company.
Commercial establishments near the building were closed, including bars and a gas station. Traffic was also closed on streets and roads around the building, one of them being Avenida Mestra Fininha, one of the city’s arteries, which connects the Center to the South Region of the city.
Report is ‘conclusive’, says Fire Department
The commander of the 4th Operational Fire Command (COB) of Montes Claros, colonel Júlio César Tóffoli, stated that the release to “normal life” around the Roma Building was only possible because the report issued by the independent expert attests to the safety and stability of building. “As of today, with the support of the safety report, we do not see the need for isolation as it was being done. We believe that the neighborhood (of the building) can now resume its normal activities”, declared the fire commander.
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The official stated that the independent expert report is “conclusive” and attests to the safety of the building and that the imminent risk (of collapse) no longer exists. Even so, he assured that there is no forecast for the return of residents to the building’s apartments. “They will have to wait for repairs to be made to the building to see whether or not they can return to the apartments,” he said.
One of the actions carried out to guarantee the stability of the building was the placement of metal supports, installed up to at least the 12th floor of the building. To carry out the shoring service, it was necessary to remove furniture from the apartments.
The operational commander of the Fire Department said that the corporation, together with the construction company, will carry out daily monitoring of the building in relation to the risk of collapse. “The Fire Department and the company continue to monitor structural situations such as cracks and tilts on a daily basis. If there is a change in the security issue, we will act again and, if necessary, take the same isolation measures”, he pointed out.
Colonel Júlio César Tóffoli claimed that it is not up to the firefighters to go into the technical aspects of the possible causes of the building’s closure. He highlighted that the corporation’s role is to ensure the safety and tranquility of residents.
“What gives us this security is the work that was done from the day of the accident until today and the participation of an independent company, which was even a requirement of the Public Ministry. So all the requirements were met by this independent company and it is a technical report, an expert report. This entire situation leaves us in a safe condition to allow the population to return to their homes and resume their lives. If there was a doubt, any issue whatsoever, we would not be taking this measure to release the residences.”
What Construtora Turano says
On Tuesday night, Construtora Turano released a statement about the release of the surroundings of the Roma Building for the return of residents and traders to the site, after issuing a technical report on the safety and stability of the building. Here is the note in full:
Turano Construtora announces that the technical release report for the entire surroundings of the Roma Building has already been duly delivered to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Fire Department and other public bodies involved, which guarantees the safety and stability of the building, with no risk to the building. around the Roma Building, with safe and immediate return to their homes and activities permitted.
Adaptation measures and actions in the area will begin as soon as the definitive project is completed, so that residents of the building can return. Finally, it emphasizes that the company will remain committed to carrying out all its own procedures with each of those affected.
Regarding the recommendation of the Montes Claros Consumer Protection Prosecutor’s Office to carry out an inspection of its buildings built in the last three years, by the Municipal Civil Defense, the construction company informed that: “the company is aware, has been notified, will inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office within the due period and all information will be made immediately available.”
