Junts per Manresa will ask Manresa City Council to review waste-container locations close to residential buildings, after a fire on Carrer Lepant on 11 September damaged vehicles, a building façade and balconies. The party says residents living beside bins judged to present a particular risk should see sites assessed and, where possible, containers moved further from homes.

The proposal is due to be submitted at the next municipal plenary meeting. It does not call for all of Manresa's containers to be relocated, but for a targeted review of sites where a fire could spread to homes.

Three-month review proposed

Junts per Manresa is seeking a review within three months to identify container areas that are especially close to building façades and could pose a specific danger in a fire.

  • Technical safety criteria would consider the distance from façades and openings, materials nearby and routes by which fire could spread.
  • The council would draw up a list of locations requiring priority action.
  • Where moving containers is not technically possible, the motion proposes alternative protective or risk-reduction measures.
  • Fire-prevention criteria would also apply to future container locations or changes to existing sites.

The motion asks the municipal government to report back to council groups within six months on the locations identified and action completed or planned.

“When a container fire affects façades, balconies and vehicles, and requires checks of a building's gas and electrical installations, it is no longer only vandalism or a problem with street furniture. It is a risk to people and their homes.”Ramon Bacardit, president of Junts per Catalunya's municipal group

Lepant fire damaged five containers and four vehicles

The most recent incident cited in the motion occurred at the junction of Carrer Lepant and Carrer Tudela, in the Plaça Catalunya neighbourhood. Four containers were destroyed and a fifth was partly damaged, according to the account of the incident.

The fire also damaged four vehicles, the adjacent building's façade and its first balconies because of the heat from the flames. Bombers assessed the building's electrical and gas installations.

Junts cited other container fires over the past two years in La Balconada, Carretera de Santpedor, La Parada and Poble Nou. Residents can follow the next Manresa municipal plenary meeting for the council's decision on the motion.

Reported by regio7.cat, Regió 7.