A Cuban family, consisting of a couple and their child, lost all their belongings in a devastating fire that broke out on Wednesday in their home in Montevideo, Uruguay. "I have nothing left," said a distraught Lexis Molino in an interview with Teledoce. "Just the phone because I had it in my hand at the time. Everything else is gone. Money, everything."
"We managed to get out in time, but we lost all our material possessions. I couldn't save the passports. We were planning to move soon and had taken the money out of our bank cards," he explained. "Leaving Cuba to get ahead and... losing everything at once," he tearfully lamented, noting that his family had been living in Uruguay for a year and eight months.
The fire erupted in a two-story house located at Doctor José Scosería and Pedro Francisco Berro in the Pocitos neighborhood of southern Montevideo. Three people, including Molino, were treated for smoke inhalation by medical personnel, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior.
The three Cubans lived on the second floor, along with two Venezuelan men, while the ground floor housed a cleaning supplies storage area, according to local media. Molino, who works as a delivery driver, and his wife, who works nights as a companion, had taken their son to school around 8:00 AM and then returned home to rest until the fire forced them to evacuate.
"Around 10:20, I heard a loud noise. We woke up, and when I looked out, I saw someone throwing something in the trash. I thought it was that," he recounted. "I noticed the air outside felt different. I went to the hallway to check, and when I saw, the smoke was already inside. I had to grab my wife and figure out how to get to the rooftop."
"We managed to get out in time; my wife is doing quite well," he said. "The fire was downstairs. I grabbed my wife, and we jumped to the next building." The Cubans had been living in the fire-stricken building for a year. The fire seemingly originated in the old cleaning supplies storage area on the ground floor of the building. Firefighters were notified about the blaze shortly after 10:00 AM.
Regarding the possible causes of the fire, Molino speculated, "Maybe it was a short circuit or something. I don't think it was intentional." Uruguayan media provided a phone number (094545887) for those wishing to help the affected family.
In July 2023, a fire in a residence claimed the lives of Cuban brothers Eduardo and Bryan Cruz Pérez, aged 21 and 23, in the city of Pando in the metropolitan area of Montevideo. Earlier in 2022, Cuban Juan Carlos Rangel, who had been living in Uruguay since 2018, lost everything in a fire in his home in Libertad, in the department of San José, but received support from his neighbors to recover.
A large Cuban community currently resides in Uruguay, thousands of whom are seeking to resolve their immigration status after the government signed a decree in mid-June to grant them legal status. The measure benefited about 20,000 people, most of them Cubans, who were living irregularly in the South American country.
Cuban Family Devastated by Fire in Uruguay
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the recent fire that left a Cuban family in Uruguay without any belongings:
What caused the fire in the Cuban family's home?
While the exact cause is still under investigation, Lexis Molino speculated that it might have been a short circuit. There is no indication that the fire was set intentionally.
How can people help the affected Cuban family?
Uruguayan media have provided a phone number (094545887) for those who wish to offer assistance to the family.
How long had the Cuban family been living in Uruguay?
The family had been living in Uruguay for a year and eight months before the fire occurred.