Tourists and community members helped put out a fire in Las Terrenas by forming a human chain to carry water from the sea

Las Terrenas.- On Wednesday night, Mayor Eduardo Esteban Polanco of Las Terrenas shared that the fire that had broken out earlier in the day at the “El Paseo” square, situated on 27 de Febrero street in the Samaná province, has been successfully extinguished. The fire initially began in the chimney of the El Pirata restaurant’s bar, eventually spreading and affecting 10 businesses within the square and two adjacent ones, including the legal office of Senator Pedro Catrain.

Mayor Polanco mentioned that the Fire Department required assistance from units of other municipalities to fully control the fire. When an hour had passed without the fire being contained and additional help hadn’t arrived, tourists and local residents formed a human chain. They collectively contributed by using buckets of water from the sea to help suppress the fire.

In Polanco’s words, “A human chain was created, and those people played a stellar role at the time when we did not have the units that arrived, we only had the local units that are very old trucks, with very little water capacity, and while people were being supplied I was helping, drawing water from the sea. Then units from the entire province of Sánchez, Santa Bárbara, El Limón, Bajo Yuna, Arroyo Barril arrived.”

Mayor Polanco further informed that the Las Terrenas Fire Department personnel are currently on-site, clearing debris and conducting investigations to determine the cause of the fire. The findings regarding the cause are expected to be revealed tomorrow.