Cozumel, Q.R. — Several Cozumel plaza businesses were shut down Wednesday after excessive smoke damage left one place in ruins. The smolder was reported coming from a premsis in Plaza del Sol Wednesday afternoon.
At the scene, firemen worked to deal with the heavy smoke inside the area that was being used as a storage warehouse. After the situation was dealt with, Civil Protection personnel reviewed the strip of second-level businesses to find at least four operating illegally.
At least four businesses adjacent to the smoked-out warehouse were closed.
Limberg Flores, Chief of Prosecutors of Cozumel City Council, says a synagogue was closed due to lack of permits and that a Chabad restaurant, which had only a state license not a municipal permit to operate, was also shut.
Rafael Tenorio Pizano, Director of Civil Protection Cozumel reported the closures of the adjacent businesses, which are said to all be inter-related, for lack of documentation.
According to Tenorio Pizano, the smolder is believed to have started by an overheated outlet. A fridge was plugged into an extension cord that is believed to have overheated.
Inside the warehouse where food products were being stored there was “a very poor quality extension cord that was connected to a fridge and the extension overheated, producing a flame and the plastic covering of the cooler caused it to smoke.”
