The building damaged by the powerful gas explosion in the "Qemal Stafa" neighborhood in Elbasan is uninhabitable and must be demolished. This was stated by the director of the Construction Institute, Persida Shkrepa, after inspecting the building, where two people lost their lives and 10 others were injured.
Shkrepa announced that the building was built in the 70s and has a structure with SAP slabs and silicate bricks. According to her, the building suffered severe damage as a result of the shock wave from the explosion, but also from the fire that followed. The director emphasized that the building must be demolished and that until then, immediate safety measures must be taken. She explained that one section of the building was not affected by the explosion, while the other part is uninhabitable and inaccessible to residents.
Shkrepa stressed that any entry of residents into the undamaged part should only be accompanied by firefighters. According to her, the surrounding buildings, within a radius of 30 meters from the damaged building, should also be secured.
"Then this is a building, we have determined today that it was built in the 70s, it is a building with a solid structure and a silicate brick. The damage it has suffered has been severe from the gas attack, but also from fire damage. We have determined that the building is uninhabitable, measures will have to be taken as soon as possible to demolish it.
Measures must be taken to ensure that residents who will have to enter the building, in the first section when there was no impact, and the second section is uninhabitable and inaccessible to any resident. It will have to be accompanied by firefighting forces. As well as the second measure that must be taken in a radius of 30 meters, the buildings around the built building will also have to be secured," said the director.
The Mayor of Elbasan, Gledian Llatja, announced that residents who are unable to stay with relatives have been accommodated in the city dormitory, where they have also been provided with food. According to him, the Municipality will continue to guarantee them shelter until the completion of legal procedures and the taking of measures according to the law on civil emergencies. Responding to criticisms about the capacities of the fire service, the mayor stated that the Elbasan fire department is among the best equipped in the country and that it has new vehicles, which, according to him, have been in full working order.
Journalist: Currently, how is the situation and what measures have been taken for the residents?
Gledian Llatja, : Yesterday, Civil Emergency forces worked on the ground, initially to evacuate residents and extinguish the fire, and then to manage the situation. It was possible to extract the bodies of two people from the damaged building. The explosion was very strong and caused significant structural damage. For this reason, we needed the intervention of the structures of the Construction Institute today to conduct a more specialized expertise. Last night, the search and rescue team intervened to extract and identify the body of the deceased. Currently, the situation is still problematic from a structural point of view, with a risk of the collapse of the fifth floor, which could cause further damage to adjacent structures or even to the building itself. The entire building is not yet safe for housing residents or for allowing multiple movements within it.
Journalist: Have measures been taken to house the residents and what will be done next, at least according to legal provisions?
Gledian Llatja: Since last evening, measures have been taken to accommodate all those who were unable to find shelter. They have been accommodated in the dormitory of the city of Elbasan, where they have also been provided with the appropriate food. A large part of the residents have left their homes with only the clothes on their backs. Some of them have stayed with relatives, while others have been accommodated in our shelter structures. We will continue to accommodate them in the premises of the Municipality of Elbasan until the completion of legal procedures. Immediately after the completion of the relevant reports from the legal structures, the Municipality of Elbasan will take measures according to the provisions of the law on civil emergencies.
Question: Journalist: Earlier we had a statement from the head of the fire service. Did the Elbasan fire department have all the necessary capacities? What equipment does it have and was the intervention professional?
Gledian Llatja: The Elbasan Fire Department has been and remains one of the best-equipped fire services in Albania. We have equipped it with new equipment, including the appropriate ladder, the fire ladder truck, as well as the basket that comes to the aid of Civil Emergencies. The equipment is all new. The two vehicles have been fully functional and professional. The other four vehicles that our structure has had at its disposal are also within all parameters and in full function. It is true that there was a statement on social networks regarding the conditions of the Elbasan Fire Department, but it meets all parameters. The moments of intervention in the fire by the relevant structures, that is, by the fire department, the personnel who direct the fire extinguishing process and the person who commands the fire truck pump, are two different processes. The moment the fire department announces that it is positioned to fight the fire, it gives the signal to open the water and set the pressure determined by the pump system. This is necessary, as otherwise the firefighter himself could be at risk from the water pressure in the fire extinguishing system.
