A number of 20 wooden houses burned down, partially or completely, after a fire spread in the Roma community in the Csíksomlyó/Șumuleu neighborhood of the Transylvanian town of Csíkszereda/Miercurea Ciuc on Thursday evening, forcing the evacuation of all its residents, Romanian news portal Ziare reports . The 230 affected people will be temporarily accommodated in the local sports arena. The Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) Harghita announced that the fire was contained and dozens of military and civilian firefighters intervened to eliminate it. “Around 20 wooden houses were affected by the flames on an area of approximately 1,000 square meters.
At this moment, the fire is contained with the help of fire trucks from the Miercurea Ciuc Fire Brigade, in cooperation with SVSU Ciceu, Pauleni, Frumoasa, and Sancraieni,” ISU Harghita stated. The initial efforts to contain the fire were hampered by the fact that the area has no water mains, and once the water tanks of the firetrucks have been exhausted, they had to resort to the slow and cumbersome process of refilling them from a nearby stream. Székelyhon/Attila Pinti The Roma quarter in the Transylvanian town of Csíkszereda engulfed by flames. The mayor of the city, Korodi Attila, said that 230 people will be accommodated at the “Erős Zsolt” sports arena, but a second gym is also ready in case it is needed.
“230 people will be transported to ‘Erős Zsolt’, (and) we have the other gym available, but we still don’t need it as a surface. It seems that we will manage with the ‘Erős Zsolt’, but we’ll see during the night if it’s enough or not,” Korodi said. “The mattresses come from the City Hall, from Caritas, from the Social Directorate from the County Council, from the hospital, from the army and from the neighboring town halls,” Korodi added. A call for solidarity and help was posted on the Facebook page by President of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarian and Deputy Prime Minister Hunor Kelemen. Both the mayor, Korodi, and the president of the Harghita County Council, Csaba Borboly, also called for solidarity and asked the inhabitants of the city to come to the aid of those affected. “We are talking about very poor people. So that we can manage to accommodate a few hundred people, any help, includihng a hot tea is welcome. I know that some restaurants have mobilized as well,” Korodi added.
Title image: The Roma quarter in the Transylvanian town of Csíkszereda engulfed by flames. (Székelyhon/Attila Pinti)
