Building fire in Quartu Sant'Elena, residents: «Exploded glass, flames and a lot of fear»

The acrid smell of smoke envelops the building in via Sant'Antonio at number 141 in Quartu. Last night's flames, which started from rubbish that was under the passatellis, blackened the entire façade up to the top floor and caused heavy damage to the families on the first and second floors , where the firefighters were forced to seal some rooms because they were unusable.

«We have two unusable rooms», say Liliana Usai, 68, and her son Cristian Garzia, 25, «the windows have exploded, the attic is dangerous and in fact now it is as if we had an open house». «My daughter - says Usai - was sleeping in one of the rooms that was sealed. We were very scared, there was so much smoke that we couldn't breathe. They were the noises that woke us up: very loud bangs and then we saw the flames. We cannot remain in this situation. Area must immediately take care of fixing up the homes."

Ignazia Serra 67 lives one floor above, «I live with my two daughters. The windows are all burned. We slept in the living room and now we don't know what to do. The damage is extensive. We were so scared, all those explosions, people taking to the streets in their pajamas. We were out in the cold until 4 in the morning."

Silvia Piras didn't think about it for a moment: "Even before the police arrived - she says - I took the two little girls and we ran into the street".

Among other things, the buildings have been in critical conditions for some time awaiting maintenance which is slow in arriving. There are cracks in the walls and facade, infiltrations and leaks.