Fire in Western Cuba’s Thermoelectric Plant Was Controlled and Extinguished

Place where the fire occurred, June 14, 2024 Photo: @AsambleaCuba

June 14, 2024 Hour: 5:33 pm

Fire control and extinguishing was possible due to the work in conjunction of the coordinated anti-fire forces

Specialized forces extinguished a fire that occurred on Friday in areas of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, located in the province of Matanzas, in western Cuba.

According to Cuban media, around 10h50 local time smoke was seen in one of the crude storage tanks that supply the plant, with a design capacity of 10,000 cubic meters.

Several fire brigade commandos are working at the plant, considered the most efficient in the country, to extinguish the disaster. So far no injuries have been reported.

Despite the incident, the block operates normally and generates stable 260 Megawatts. The main authorities of the province are located on the site, while other specialized personnel try to determine the causes.

????ATENCION????
Extinguido el incendio????
En la CTE Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas.
????????
Con información de
Pedro Rizo Martinez
TV Yumuri @PedroRizoM ???? pic.twitter.com/HbzCWtUImt
— Waldo Ramírez de la Ribera (@wrr2) June 14, 2024

The text reads,
ATTENTION
Fire extinguished
In the CTE Antonio Guiteras of Matanzas.
With information from
Pedro Rizo Martinez
TV Yumuri

The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, reported through the social network X that ‘you have all the necessary resources to control the fire in the fuel tank of the CTE Guiteras. Enough foam, water. The fire department is working with its usual organization and altruism».

In addition, the fire-fighting system was activated, the surrounding fuel tanks were cooled and a retaining wall was created in case of a spill. Many of the workers were evacuated, while others remain on site to provide the necessary help.

A local journalist, José Miguel Solís, confirmed that «combined troops against fires in the industrial zone of Matancera, cut off possible ways of spreading to other deposits and treat the tank that caught fire with chemicals such as foam».

The first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the territory, Mario Sabines Lorenzo, confirmed that the incident was controlled.

This CTE is not far from the Matanzas Super Tanker Base, affected by a major fire in August 2023.