Early Saturday Morning
Fire Destroys Downtown
San José Landmark
It was shortly after
11:00am when the alarm
came in, as a fire broke
out in the historic
building that houses the
Manolo's restaurant on
Avenida Central,
diagonal to the Banco
Central de Costa Rica.
More than 50 bomberos
(firefighters) fought to
bring the blaze under
control.
Some 40 people, between
customers and staff,
were in the restaurant
at the time. Fortunately
no injuries were
reported.
In total some three
hundred square metres of
downtown San José went
up in smoke that
included the nearby La
Alhambra building that
housed the Misión los
Ángeles and declared a
historic landmark on 22
February 2000.
The fire is beleived to
have started in the
third floor of the
building, though the
cause is yet unknown.
The fire spread quickly
due to the age of the
structure, threatening
the adjacent structures.
The Policía de Tránsito
had their hands full as
the fire caused traffic
congestion in the area
and is believed to be
responsible for knocking
out many of the traffic
lights in the downtown
core. |
