Experts want to know if there was polyurethane in containers that caught fire in Flamengo | New

The experts who worked Saturday at the Flamengo training center focused on the material used in the interior finish containers. A source heard by Jornal Nacional said the experts had found foam in some of the panels, installed as if it were walls.

On the site, the company NHJ, which installed the containers, indicates that it uses injected polyurethane in the center of the panels which, according to the company, are made of sheet steel on both sides. However, so far the company has not responded that it was like that.

Polyurethane is a mixture of chemicals that turn into rigid foam after application. This foam prevents the pbadage of noise and heat.

The Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, used polyurethane foam plates. During the fire, in 2013, the fire spread in minutes and killed 242 people.

Experts say that polyurethane is highly flammable and that smoke emits toxic fumes.

In the case of the vulture's nest, the experts want to know if there was actually use of polyurethane and mainly of what material were the plates covering the foam; as it says on the company's website, it was even steel plates, for example plastic or plywood.

According to engineer Gerardo Portela, polyurethane is not suitable for use in housing.

"This type of sandwich structure has a heat resistance limit, so even though it's a fire principle and people are ready to react quickly, okay, you can always use it, as in the case of an office.When I sleep, as a designer, I would not specify this material. "

The tragedy may have been compounded by the fact that the structure has only one exit, say the experts.

"It was not necessary to make a first badysis of the layout of this facility to determine if there were enough emergency exits to allow people to leave with more than one option. an alarm system, smoke detection, fire detection, an exit option before arriving at the point of arrival. "

The nest of Urubu belongs to the Flamengo since the 1980s, but it was only in 2010 that the professional team was driven definitively, still in temporary structures. Last year, the club invested $ 26 million to modernize the TC. But this mega-structure of five thousand square meters had no certificate of approval of the fire department.

According to the company, Flamengo entered the fire safety project in 2010 and since then firefighters have conducted surveys to verify compliance with the requirements, which have never been fully met.

The prefecture indicates that Flamengo applied for the exploitation permit from the Urubu nest in September 2017, but without the firefighters' approval certificate.

On October 16, the city council fined the club for letting the vulture's nest run without the charter. Four days later, he banned the scan.

Since then, 30 additional fines have been imposed.

In April 2018, Flamengo presented a project to build a new construction on the ground. According to the town hall, the place that caught fire was part of a project, namely a parking and not a dwelling, and no request was made for the construction of dormitories .

In November 2018, firefighters conducted the most recent investigation into the TC. And, again, they did not issue the certificate of approval, because there were still problems with the security project. In a statement, the company said it had not banned the Center because it did not find the risks that would legally justify an immediate ban.

On December 12, 2018, the city administration imposed the last fine on Flamengo for violating the Prohibition Ordinance.

Despite this, the Municipality of Rio indicated, in a note, that it did not have the power to close the doors of the CT ostensibly and that any other action, besides the measures taken, It was not within reach of the town hall.

"What was lacking was to take steps to ensure that his decision was actually enforced, even with the help of police forces." In the worst case, the city may have always sought a court order through an appeal to the authorities. and this was a serious omission, "said Gustavo Binenbjom, Professor of Law at UERJ.

Late in the afternoon, Flamengo's executive director made a statement. Fines and lack of license are not related to the tragedy.

"In reality, it has nothing to do with the accident that occurred." We have some steps to take to make the CT fully legalized, we are working with the fire department.We talked about the housing we were talking about, it was known to all.It was not a trap we hid, quite the contrary, it was comfortable accommodation, adapted to what was proposed and we proudly show everyone, "said Reinaldo Belotti, Executive Director of Flamengo.

Reinaldo Belotti did not answer any questions from the journalists. He said that the air conditioners in the room had been repaired.

"Between Thursday evening and Friday noon, there were several peaks of energy, so we can badume that these peaks of energy have influenced the normal operation of the air conditioning and caused the fire", declared Belotti.

The Rio Light Company reported that, from Thursday morning (7) to the time of the fire, there was no interruption or oscillation of energy.

Belotti also presented a certificate from the CBF recognizing Flamengo as an entity for the training of athletes, with the favorable opinion of the State Football Federation of Rio de Janeiro.

He also showed a document dated May 2018 from the City Council for Children and Adolescents confirming that the club had submitted the necessary documentation for its operation.

Flamengo, Rio City Hall, Firemen, CBF. Although the causes and responsibilities are unclear, there remains the image of dreams and lives tragically disrupted.

The city of Rio de Janeiro said that the containers were considered as buildings and that they required an authorization of installation. However, according to the city council, Flamengo installed these structures without notice or authorization. We asked the town hall why no lawsuit had been brought to prohibit the TC, but we had no answer.

About the fact that there is only one door in the dwelling, the fire department indicated that it does not belong to the company to determine the number of doors and the size of the windows, for example, and that these specifications are established by the code of work of the municipality. and technical standards.

The CBF baderted that it was strictly performing its duties and that the document issued by the Confederation was not a substitute for the inspection of public power.