In recent years, Brazil, as a member of the BRICS countries, has experienced strong economic growth and ranks first in Latin America in terms of economic strength. S ã o Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, is the largest and busiest city in South America. It is located on 25th Street in the old town of S ã o Paulo and is a replica of Yiwu in China. This less than two kilometer path is filled entirely with Chinese merchants and vendors, and the vast majority of the goods here come from China. In the eyes of many people, 25th Street has actually become the “Chinatown” of Sao Paulo.
The full name of “25th Street” is “March 25th Street”, which comes from the Brazilian Constitution Day. Until now, it has become the exclusive name of Sao Paulo’s “Chinatown”. 25th Street is currently S ã o Paulo and also the most densely populated area for Chinese people in Brazil. Many Chinese people live and do business here. In addition to wholesale goods, overseas Chinese have also established various service industries such as Chinese tutoring classes and accounting firms in this area, gradually forming a diverse Chinese community.
On a street that is only 2 kilometers long, there are now over 3000 Chinese shops, and 25th Street has become Brazil’s largest wholesale market and department store hub. Small appliances and commodities from China have a great market in Brazil. The streets are filled with various goods from China, which are a replica of Yiwu, China.
According to the latest incident, opn October 30th (Wednesday), a serious fire broke out at 25 Shopping in the Bras district of downtown Sao Paulo. At around 6:44 am, the Sao Paulo fire department received an alarm and immediately dispatched 17 fire trucks to the scene of the fire on Rua Bar ã o de Lad á rio street for firefighting.
The fire produced a large amount of thick smoke, and the city traffic management department (CET) immediately implemented traffic blockades on multiple surrounding roads, including the intersection of Barandeladario Street with Rua Oriente and Rua Jo ã o Teodoro Streets, the intersection of Rua J ú lio Ribeiro Street with Rua Miller Street, and the intersection of Avenida do Estado and Rua S ã o Caetano Streets, to ensure smooth firefighting operations. Bras25Shopping is a commercial center where local Chinese merchants gather. Upon receiving the news, the Consulate General in S ã o Paulo quickly called relevant departments to express concern for the safety of overseas Chinese.
According to a Chinese businessman on site, the fire is suspected to have originated from a Chinese clothing store on the first floor of the shopping mall. The day before (29th), there was a power outage at the shopping center. The Chinese shop owner forgot to turn off the small appliances when leaving, causing them to overheat and catch fire. The morning market opening hours of the shopping center are around 5am. Around 6:30am, other merchants discovered thick smoke coming from the clothing store that had not yet opened. Several merchants attempted to break in and extinguish the fire, but the flames quickly spread along the air conditioning ducts, forcing everyone to evacuate urgently. Soon, the entire building was engulfed by the flames.
Captain Maycon Cristo, spokesperson for the fire department, pointed out at the scene that due to the expiration of the safety inspection permit for the building, this fire may lead to the collapse of the building structure, intense flames, and severe damage to the exterior facade of the shopping mall. And in an interview, it was stated that the fire involved over a thousand Chinese merchants, including more than 400 stores in the early morning section of 25Shopping, and the direct loss of goods is expected to exceed ten million. They will contact relevant government departments as soon as possible to assess the structural damage of the mall and coordinate with merchants to handle subsequent issues, including understanding the time for resuming normal business operations of surrounding merchants.
