A fire that broke out on Monday night in the Horta da Areia area of Faro has left nine homeless, according to the mayor, Rogério Bacalhau.
Those affected by the fire are from three families who lived in the pre-fab wood and corrugated iron houses that were gutted by the flames.
Bacalhau said that the council works department will start to clear away the houses which he considers are "unrecoverable."
In fact the whole area could be said to be unrecoverable as the makeshift dwellings were considered 'temporary' in 1975.
There are 60 families living there currently, some 300 people in total, and the whole area is a testament to the council’s prioritisation over the years.
Money has swept into Faro’s coffers over the years and even when the city was flush with funds this sorry excuse for social housing was ignored and remains an ugly, tattered blot in an urban landscape of dereliction.
One of the current mayor’s election promises was to sort out this 1970s disgrace, here is his chance to shine as the nation’s media see how the poor in the Algarve really live, in this case between the gas works and the stinking, polluted mudflats near the docks.
Bacalhau said there will be a meeting with Social Services to "arrange alternative housing for these families who have low incomes." The cause of the fire was still unclear.
Besides the firefighters, staff from the Red Cross, Social Security and Social Action were in attendance. Never before has the plight and conditions of these families received so much attention.
