Federal Police begins examination with drone and robot in building destroyed by fire at UFPE; see images

The Federal Police began investigating the building of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), which was destroyed by fire during the week. In this first phase, the analyzes rely on the use of drones and robots, as experts cannot enter the site due to a possible risk of the ceiling collapsing, which is also being assessed by the teams.

The flames started on Wednesday night (7) and were only controlled by the Fire Department nine hours later. The following day, PF teams managed to take images inside the property with a drone and a robot cart that had a camera attached (see video above). The corporation is investigating whether the fire was arson or had other causes.

The first floor was the place most affected by the flames, but with the windows destroyed, the equipment was able to fly over and access the building. In the images, it is possible to see the destruction inside the laboratories, with rubble, ash, tubes and twisted furniture.

The UFPE rectory estimates a loss of around R$100 million. Around 200 theses and dissertations were affected, compromising 20 years of scientific projects. There were laboratories working on health research, including studies on Covid-19, cancer, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

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The PF team will only be able to access the property when the building has been shored up to prevent collapse. According to the PF's regional executive delegate, Rodrigo Bastos, PF experts from the Federal District will work on the investigations.

Recife's Civil Defense reported that it has not inspected the site and is waiting for the Federal Police to complete the work. The agency also said that an engineer from UFPE will evaluate the structure after the PF's expertise is completed.

The building, where the University Restaurant once operated in the 1980s and 1990s, was also the headquarters of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Directorate (Dine). During the pandemic, it began to house the Therapeutic Innovation Research Center, bringing together laboratories from different areas.

The Minister of Education, Leonardo Barchini, visited the burned building on Thursday afternoon (8) and announced the construction of a new research center, with an investment of around R$28 million. The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, stated that she will transfer R$40 million to reacquire equipment lost to the fire.

Drone image shows the internal area of a building destroyed by fire at UFPE, in Recife — Photo: Federal Police/Disclosure

Three fires in one week

Infographic about the three fires that happened at UFPE in seven days — Photo: Arte/g1

This was the third fire recorded at UFPE in a week. On September 30, flames spread in a laboratory in the Physics Department. Nobody was injured. According to the institution, the suspicion is that the fire was caused in a high-temperature chamber used to heat substances.

On Sunday (4), another fire was recorded in the Cytogenetics and Plant Evolution laboratory, at the Biosciences Center. There were also no victims.

According to the UFPE rectory, the causes of the first two fires have already been identified. In the first case, the fire was caused by an experiment carried out in the laboratory. The second began to spread after a short circuit in the air conditioning.

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