Without a license to operate as a guesthouse, a guesthouse hit by fire in RS had its contract renewed with the city council in December | Rio Grande do Sul

A Pousada Garoawhich was hit by a fire that killed 10 people and injured 15 in Porto Alegre this Friday (26), it did not have a license to operate as a guesthouse, according to the Fire Department, but as an office. Even so, contract was renewed with the city hall in December 2023 for another 12 months, at a cost of R$2.7 million.

The place, which is private, received people in situations of social vulnerability and, of the 30 who were in the space at the time of the fire, 16 had their stay paid for by public coffers.

The owners of the inn have other addresses in Porto Alegre with the same name. Two of them are in the São João neighborhood, one in Floresta (which was affected by the fire) and one in the Historic Center.

The original contract was signed in November 2020 and provided for the hiring of accommodation spaces to serve the Social Assistance and Citizenship Foundation (Fasc). The target audience is the population in vulnerable situations, who suffer social risk such as unemployment and difficulties in accessing other public policies.

The cost for the service in the original contract was R$197,000 lasting six months for 360 spaces and was renewed several times. In the last renewal, last December, the value was changed to R$2.7 million. The contract provided for payment of R$ 18.53 per day for accommodation.

Large fire hits building in the center of Porto Alegre

The city hall and the owner of the inns, Andre Luis Kologeski da Silva, claim that the inn was in good standing.

“First of all, they (inn owners) fully submitted the documentation, which is required by the Bidding Law. This includes the registration of PPCI (Fire Prevention Plan). They registered it in August. It is still being processed within the fire department , but all the required documentation was delivered in August. They delivered the documentation, they are in full compliance with the law”, says Social Assistance Secretary Léo Voigt.

According to Voigt, most of the vacancies made available by the government for people in vulnerable situations are in Pousada Garoa units. He assesses that the relationship with the company is positive and guarantees that people were “well accommodated, well treated”.

“This tragedy is a definitive tragedy, especially for us, in the protection system, because we have an important strategy in this and here there was an important mistake, and we don’t know the origin of it”, says the secretary.

The owner of the inn, André Luis Kologeski da Silva, claims that the fire was arson.

“Two important points: it was arson, they set fire. We have the required documentation. All regularized. We will be arranging for it to be sent to the city hall”, he stated.

The firefighters claim that the documentation for regularizing the space arrived at the corporation, but was not evaluated and there was no inspection, that is, there was no release for operation. Furthermore, due to the license being for a business different from that for which it was intended, the release would not occur.

“The first point is: the building does not have a fire prevention and protection permit from the Military Fire Department. There is a protocol registered in 2019 for a PPCI, however, it was never completed. In other words, an inspection was not requested to obtain a permit, which is the document that certifies that the Military Fire Department licensed that building. So, therefore, it is a building that was not licensed by the Military Fire Department to operate”, says Colonel Lúcio Juanes da Silva, commander of the 1st Fire Battalion. Military Firefighters of Porto Alegre.

The accommodation service provided for in the tender should provide for a distance of 1.5 meters between people. Guests should have their physiological and personal hygiene needs met, with toilets and showers with hot water, as well as bath and hygiene materials such as towels, soap, toilet paper, bed linen. Rooms should be ventilated. The inn should also carry out sanitization, insect control and rat control services in all areas of the establishment.