A fire broke out before dawn Thursday in a shantytown in the port of Callao, spreading over a city block and destroying more than 200 homes and workshops. No deaths and only minor injuries were reported.
Six fire engine units were called to the fire and the firefighters had initially to rely only on their water tanks because of poor water pressure and few hydrants in the area. Within two hours Sedapal, the water authority, increased the water pressure and sent water trucks. By mid-morning, firefighters were hosing down smoldering ashes and the little that was left on the block.
Few of the one or two-story buildings survived the fire. Some of the homes in the San Juan Bosco shanty town were made of brick and cement, but most were made of plywood, plastic and similarly flammable materials. The fire spread quickly, and made worse by explosions from a workshop where fireworks were being made and stored.
