By Brennan Stark, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – New rules will be enforced for all Rio dining establishments following last Thursday’s explosion at Filé Carioca restaurant in Praça Tiradentes, announced Mayor Eduardo Paes on Monday. The disaster, likely caused by a gas leak, left three people dead and seventeen wounded.
Beginning today, Tuesday, the regional licensing and supervision inspectors of the Municipal Public Order will begin reporting any eateries found to be operating without direct authorization from the fire department.
Those in violation will have ten days from notification to rectify the problem, with failure to comply resulting in a fine or the possible closing of the establishment.
The mayor also ordered a September 2008 decree, which stated that a fire department inspection was only necessary for establishments with an area greater than eighty square meters, to be changed to include all units, regardless of physical space.
The Secretary of State for Civil Defense and fire brigade commander Colonel Sérgio Simões had already announced Sunday that he would ask Rio’s records department for a list of all businesses with provisional operating licenses in the city.
Filé Carioca first obtained its license on August 20th, 2008, and had since received five successive extensions.
Read more (in Portuguese).
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