Firefighters examine its condition, while the reason for a gas pipe explosion on Paseo de la Ilíada is being investigated
The fire that broke out last night in the Salburua neighborhood of Vitoria-Gasteiz, caused by a ruptured gas pipe at the roundabout, has resulted in «serious material damage to the bridge» where the incident took place, at the intersection between Paseo de la Ilíada and Calle Antonio Amat.
This was reported on Wednesday by the deputy mayor, Beatriz Artolazabal, who visited the affected area with the Security councilor, César Fernández de Landa.
Artolazabal explained that «the heat that the structure endured was very significant and, therefore, the material damages are important.» The bridge, she continued, suffers «serious infrastructural issues, so the City Council will conduct a very rigorous study to ensure safety.»
In this regard, she indicated that municipal technicians have been working since early morning to carry out an initial assessment, and firefighters are conducting «a thorough report» on the necessary actions to be taken.
While the infrastructure damages are being assessed, the Traffic service will implement a ‘bypass’ to ensure access to this area of the Alava capital, where the Errekabarri educational center is located nearby. Fernández de Landa specified that «only the area of the bridge will be closed off to allow access to and from the school.»
The municipal representatives highlighted that the incident did not cause «any personal harm.» «It was a serious fire. The City’s protection services, both Local Police and Firefighters, acted promptly. They were effective and extinguished the fire in less than an hour and a half. Iberdrola also established a protection service promptly,» Artolazabal explained.
INVESTIGATION
The Local Police are investigating the cause of the gas pipe explosion that caused the fire in the area, so the City Council is keeping «all hypotheses open.» «Clearly, there was a gas pipe under the bridge’s structure, and that’s where the fire, the leak, and the incident occurred,» the Security councilor added.
The City Council is working to «restore all services» that were affected, all of which are already restored, «except for gas at the Errekabarri center,» an issue that Iberdrola is trying to resolve. Fernández de Landa noted that «electricity was restored in half an hour,» and «water is also restored for all residents.»
Additionally, he mentioned that there were «people trapped in elevators during the first five minutes of the fire» because «apparently, the Salburua electrical substation failed.» Despite this, «another substation immediately provided power, and within the first few minutes, 50% of the original loss was restored, with the rest returning over the next hour.»
The Security councilor could not specify how many residents were affected by the fire with power and gas outages, but he estimated that it may have impacted «a small number of buildings in the vicinity.» According to Iberdrola, as reported to Europa Press, about 1,900 homes were without electricity around 9:45 PM, while all residents regained full service three hours after the incident occurred at 8:34 PM. At the time of the gas explosion that caused the fire, 4,300 Iberdrola customers were left without power, with 55% of them getting their service back just two minutes later.
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