Fire destroys almost a century of army history in So Leopoldo – Regio

Nearly a century of history was destroyed by the fire that struck the main building of the 19th Motorized Infantry Battalion (19th BITMz) to São Leopoldo Monday (2). Inaugurated on November 12, 1922, the place served as a barracks for the 8th Fighter Battalion then. The fire this afternoon hit the command flag, destroying the entire second floor of the building. According to a note posted on the entity's Facebook page, "what the fire did not consume on the top floor, has collapsed or is at risk". There was no expedition this morning because of the match of the Brazilian National Team against Mexico . As a result, the flames were only noticed around 13 hours. "When the service personnel noticed the flames, shortly after the match, they only had time to remove the armament and ammunition of the guards and call the fire department because the flames were already high and there was no way to fight them with the means available here, "the text follows on Facebook. In an official press release, the command simply stated that "the circumstances will be determined by the battalion command for further clarification".

The losses, however, do not only come from the building – an architectural relic for São Leopoldo and the region – but also documentary history of the corporation and the city itself. One of the damaged parts contained documentation, photographs, works of art and objects of the corporation.