Fire prompts evacuations during COP30 climate talks in Brazil: NPR

In this image from a video by Catherine Ellis, flames engulf pavilions at the COP30 UN climate summit Thursday in Belem, Brazil.

Catherine Ellis/AP

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Catherine Ellis/AP

BELEM, Brazil — A fire briefly spread through pavilions used for U.N. climate talks in Brazil, prompting evacuations Thursday on the penultimate day of the conference. Officials said 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation.

According to organizers, the fire was under control within six minutes. Fire officials ordered the evacuation of the entire site for the conference, known as COP30, and it was not clear when talks would resume.

Brazilian Tourism Minister Celso Sabino told journalists at the scene that the fire started near the Chinese pavilion, one of several set up for events on the sidelines of the climate talks.

The fire quickly spread to neighboring pavilions, said Samuel Rubin, one of the people in charge of an entertainment and culture pavilion. He said nearby pavilions include many of the African pavilions and one is aimed at youth.

Video showed huge flames in one of the pavilions, which are reinforced canvas or fabric structures that typically have three walls and a floor.

Para state governor Helder Barbalho told local news channel G1 that a generator failure or a short circuit in a cabin may have caused the fire.

Much of the prime Belem venue was still under construction until the conference opened, with exposed beams, open plywood floors and metal mesh hallways leading nowhere outside the conference center. At an event ahead of the summit, drilling and hammer drilling could be heard as world leaders gave speeches and dozens of workers in hard hats hurried around unfinished pavilions wrapped in plastic.

A security official orders people to leave the venue for Thursday’s COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil.

Fernando Llano/AP

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Fernando Llano/AP

Gabi Andrade, a COP30 volunteer from host city Belem, said she has been working on accreditations for the past three weeks at the conference. Thursday was her first afternoon off and she had just finished her lunch break and was exploring the Singapore pavilion when the fire broke out.

She said she saw black smoke. A guard took her hand and led her to the exit as she cried and shouted “fire.”

Despite the shock of the situation, she worried about what it would mean for Brazil’s reputation, which hosted the talks. “It’s so sad for us,” she said. “We all worked so hard.”