Firefighters extinguish two fires in Cartagena

Cartagena emergency services extinguished two fires over the weekend of 18–19 October: one aboard a cargo ship at the port of Escombreras and another in an apartment on Luis Pasteur street.

Ship fire

The blaze at Escombreras broke out at 12:50 on Saturday in tarpaulins covering the cargo of the vessel Sloman Dispatcher. Authorities say the likely cause was cutting work using oxyacetylene; the fire involved two nearby hotspots, including one in the ship's hold.

The freighter — 138 metres long with a 21-metre beam and flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda — was carrying engines. Firefighters from the Cartagena City Council attended alongside Port Police and the Guardia Civil; crew members had deployed hoses to fight the flames externally. The fire was declared extinguished by 15:00 and no injuries were reported.

Apartment fire

On Sunday at about 09:12, emergency calls reported thick black smoke from a second-floor apartment in a five-storey building on Luis Pasteur street. Two people lived in the flat and initial reports did not confirm whether they were inside.

The local police, Cartagena firefighters, a 061 ambulance and a Protection Civil ambulance responded. Police confirmed occupants were present and neighbours evacuated the building. The fire, centred in the living room, was quickly controlled. Firefighters rescued one person affected by smoke inhalation; they were stabilised by 061 paramedics and taken to Hospital Universitario Santa Lucía by a Protection Civil ambulance.

After extinguishing the fire, crews ventilated the apartment and the building. Coordinated action by emergency services contained both incidents while investigations continue into the ship blaze's origin.