A very revealing smoke
It seems that sometimes the truth needs to go up in smoke for someone to pay attention to it. The Secretary of State Health, Cuitláhuac González Galindo, in a burst of sincerity that will surely not be repeated for a long time, dropped the bomb: the rehabilitation center that caught fire and forced the evacuation of fourteen people is just one more of a vast network of 155 establishments that operate as outside the law as a seller of pirated DVDs at a traffic light. Is anyone surprised? Of course not, but it’s a good thing to say after a few patients have almost been toasted.
The incident, which fortunately did not become serious – except for the small detail of the poisoning of an employee – occurred in a building set up in such an irregular manner that probably not even the mice had permission to be there. Located on Los Aguacates Street, in the La Campiña neighborhood, Culiacán, this center was part of the select 70% of establishments that operate in the most absolute informality. Because, why do you want permits and certifications when you can have a nice sign made in Word and the good faith of desperate families?
The epidemic of informality
The official, with an impeccable face, explained that of a universe of 220 centers for addiction rehabilitation treatment, only 65 have the documentation in order. That is to say, if you are unfortunate enough to need one of these places, you are more likely to end up in a clandestine place than to find a taco stand without a line. A lottery in which the biggest prize is not to be burned or, at least, to receive treatment that does not consist of prayers and beatings.
Faced with this devastating panorama – and after the scare of the fire–, the good Mr. González Galindo enlightened himself and guided the families to contact the State Commission for the Prevention, Treatment and Control of Addictions. Because, of course, it is common sense: instead of trusting a neighbor’s cousin who put a center in his garage, it is better to call an institution that, until now, had remained in a discreet background while 70% of the centers operated at ease. Take it now!
The secretary indicated, with a seriousness that we almost believe it, that the ideal would be for each rehabilitation center to have official permits, qualified personnel and a verified program. Wow, what a revolutionary idea. Has anyone thought of this before? Probably yes, but it must be that writing it down on the agenda of “urgent things to do” slipped their mind in the midst of all the bureaucratic reporting.
The heroic work of firefighters
While the officials scratched their chins thinking about the informality, the true heroes of this story, the Municipal Civil Coordination and the fire brigade, worked in a coordinated manner to smother the fire and evacuate the patients. Thanks to their quick intervention, the flames were prevented from spreading to other nearby homes. Because, in the end, we can always count on them to put out the fires that others light with their negligence.
Last Tuesday night, chaos took over the La Campiña neighborhood. A call to the emergency lines activated the security protocols for an accident that originated in that property as legal as a three-peso coin. Among the evacuees, Adrián “N”, a 34-year-old employee who decided that inhaling smoke was not his thing and ended up with poisoning, was transferred to a hospital to receive medical assistance. Luckily the center, although informal, at least had someone to intoxicate.
To top off the move, the Civil Protection and Fire Corps personnel did not determine the causes of the fire. It is presumed, with that scientific precision that characterizes us so much, that it was “some incident” in one of the rooms upstairs. A short circuit on a bare wire? A candle to illuminate power outages? A patient who was trying to smoke secretly? The world will never know, but we have the consolation that informality continues to run rampant.
The moral? If you’re looking for a rehab center, make sure it has more permits than a rocket factory. And if you see smoke, run. Lest “rehabilitation” include an intensive course in fire survival.
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