Screengrab from a social media video of the blaze. (Twitter/@philabouzeid)
BEIRUT — A fire broke out Friday morning in the KidzMondo children's leisure center at the Beirut waterfront facing the port, a spokesperson from the Civil Defense told L’Orient Today. There were no reported injuries, and the center was closed at the time of the fire, the spokesperson said. It was not yet clear by publication time whether the fire had been fully extinguished.
Here’s what we know:
• The Civil Defense deployed first responders to extinguish the fires, the spokesperson also said, adding that as of now, they don’t know the origins of the blaze and that they plan on sending experts to investigate.
• KidzMondo, which is located a short distance from the port on the Beirut waterfront, has been closed since Aug. 2020. It announced on Aug. 12, 2020, shortly after the Aug. 4 port explosion, that it was forced to close after “mental and material damages” from the blast. The announcement said that those running the center will “not lose hope and will return [eventually] to receive kids.” KidzMondo has yet to reopen.
• Yesterday, on the second anniversary of the Aug. 4 explosion, four more silos in the northern section of the grain silos structures collapsed as hundreds of protesters took to the streets. The silos have been ablaze for around three weeks, which experts say is due to the presence of grain stored there since before the explosion, which at a high temperature can ignite easily. The Public Works Ministry has repeatedly prevented Civil Defense and other first responders from extinguishing the fire, citing safety reasons since the northern part of the silos has been at risk of collapsing for around a month.