Fire at ICF Honduras destroys the facilities.
The blaze started around 4:30 pm, in the Brisas neighborhood of Olancho, just minutes after the departure of the staff, which is why thankfully, no one was hurt.
Although there is as yet no official version of the cause that led to this fire, it is believed that it was a short circuit that occurred in the roof. Jose Trinidad Suazo, the minister of the ICF said that the event is attributed to a failure in the electrical system of the building.
“We do not know yet the reasons why this fire started, it was a big scale fire, the facilities are completely burned, destroyed, there is nothing to rescue because it was a wooden structure” said Karen Guzman, head of ICF’s department of communications.
In the end, 90% of the structure was gone. Losses are estimated between 15 and 20 million Lempiras, because the flames consumed furniture and all the electronic equipment. “We could not rescue anything, equipment and documents, it all turned into rubble. I saw my companions crying around the structure” commented Karen.
Another employee of ICF said, “we basically lost documents, office equipment and the walls of ancient wood that clothed us for all these years”.
“What worries us is the documentation that kept more than 30 years of history of AFE-Cohdefor (Honduran Forest Development Corporation) and some records that were in the approval process,” according to the director.
Background: The National Institute for Conservation and Forest Development, Protected Areas, and Wildlife (ICF) was created in Honduras by the Forest Law in 2008, replacing CONADEH, the institution that was formerly in charge of forestry affairs. ICF is in charge of the forest sector and manages public and private forest areas.
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