Cancun, Q.R. — A second Cancun Hotel Zone fire has left another building in ruins. The second fire was reported in a former casino building Sunday. It was the second fire in the Cancun Hotel Zone in less than 24 hours.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities received several reports of thick black smoke coming from a building. Firemen responded to the reports of a fire at kilometer 3.5 of Kukulcán Boulevard.
The Cancun Fire Department said the building, which was generating a lot of smoke, was abandoned. The fire was started by someone inside burning garbage.
Smoke from the burning building was clearly visible from beaches in the Cancun Hotel Zone Sunday afternoon.
The inside of the old casino was completely gutted by the fire. There was no one inside at the time of the afternoon blaze.
“Cancun Fire Department personnel responded to a fire inside an abandoned building in the Hotel Zone, where trash was burning inside, generating a large amount of smoke,” Bomberos Cancun reported in a statement.
“From the outset, emergency crews worked at the scene carrying out control, ventilation and hazard mitigation operations to prevent the fire from spreading and ensure safety in the area.
“These types of incidents in abandoned structures represent a significant risk, so we reiterate the call to report any suspicious activity or fire immediately.”
According to local reports, the old casino building was frequented by homeless people.
Late Saturday night, a fire was reported at Playa Caracol in the Cancun Hotel Zone. At the scene, firemen found a large palapa had caught fire. The palapa was the roof to the Xcaret company base.
The entire grass-topped roof burned and the office below suffered extensive fire and water damage. An official cause for the Xcaret building fire has not been made public.
