Flamengo Club Fire

By: Henrique Sampaio

In the morning of the 8th of February, there was a fire in the ‘Ninho do Urubu’, known as the Club of Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro. Ten people died and three were injured, all of them played for the Flamengo team.

Players of the team that survived stated that minutes after the fire, there was an explosion of an air conditioner in the club. Samuel Barbosa, a 16-year-old boy who plays for the defence said “The air conditioner caught fire, then a short circuit was generated on every other air conditioner, making them all catch fire. It was really, really fast. We didn’t manage to call nearly anyone.” Flamengo and the company responsible for the structure admit that there was polyurethane in the building, which is a highly flammable material. However, they also stated that there was an anti flames system in the club to prevent fires. The club was fined 30 times by the government.

​Ten players died, with ages from 14 to 16. Flamengo said that to support their families, they will maintain the payment of their wages. Three players were injured, one of them having 30% of his body burnt.

The fire hit one of the oldest parts of the club. The area had six rooms, with five beds each. The accommodation housed teenagers from 14 to 17 years old. As it was a Friday, there wasn’t a training session during the day, meaning that most athletes were in their houses, which reduced the number of victims.