Jan 15
Rodelag Fire
Yesterday evening, I looked out back and saw a major amount of smoke rising in the sky. It was enough smoke, that I knew some business was on fire. It turns out that it was the new Rodelag store. I don’t have current details about the damage, but the smoke was substantial.
I guess the important thing I heard on the news that bothered me was that the fire department was handicapped by insufficient water pressure.
Water pressure is a constant problem all through Chiriquí. When an emergency such as this happens then the problem is more apparent. Being without water and low water pressure is a major annoyance, but when there is a fire, then it is a catastrophe.
I have seen a billboard for a huge skyscraper to be built in David. Earthquakes in this area would worry me about being in a 35 story building, but fires and low water pressure would be just as big a worry.
17 responses so far Panama Journal
Hi Don Ray,
We spoke to you from Montana a month or so ago. We are in David and staying at the Hotel Puerta Del Sol.. which is very nice, by the way. I was wondering if you could turn me on to a secure internet cafe? The WiFi at the hotel is not secure, and we have already had our E-mail address hijacked once since arriving in Panama.
Thanks for any help,
Dick and Colleen
From your hotel, I would use the Planet Internet Cafe, which is to your right as you exit the hotel. There are several options close to where you are. They usually have locations that you can connect your laptop to via Ethernet cable. That is always better than using their PCs because it is always possible that an Internet Cafe has been infected with a key logger program and you know the state of you AV protection on your PC.
Gracias. When is the next meeting of Gringos of David? We met Shirley and Scott the other day, but got to talking and forgot to ask.
Don Ray:
Would you keep us updated on the aftermath of this fire, please?
Jaime^
If I learn more, I will try to post it.
Hi
“I have seen a billboard for a huge skyscraper to be built in David. Earthquakes in this area would worry me about being in a 35 story building, but fires and low water pressure would be just as big a worry”
According to the planes last story should be a huge reserve water tank dedicate only to fire extinguisher.
I do not think in Panama city they have more pressure than in David.
Flavio
Hi Flavio. I would not buy inany of the high rises in Panama City either. David has many more quakes than does PC. I would not have faith that any of the building are built to US standards against earth quakes.
@Richard and Colleen,
I’d also consider a VPN (virtual private network) connection if you can. I have a subscription to HotSpotVPN (http://www.hotspotvpn.com) which would provide additional security over just using your laptop. I haven’t been in David so I can’t confirm that the ports to this service are open.
Hi Tuxi. Not a bad recommendation.
Thanks to Tuxi for the vpn information. I’ve been looking for a vpn recommendation from a techie-type who also uses the recommended service. I have emailed the company with some specific questions.
Hi Michael. I am currently looking at Ace VPN.
Thanks Don. I went ahead and ordered the personalVPN™ – SSL/PPTP Combo for about $70/year from WiTopia.net here:
http://www.witopia.net/index.php/products/
I liked everything I read there…and they accept PayPal.
The combo package averages out to $5.83/month.
I located them from a recommendation link on this page:
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3842921
The service Tuxi recommended was listed there as well as witopia.
The SSL (openVPN) was about $60/year and would provide fast service on a computer and a variety of servers (IP addresses) but would not work on an iPod Touch. The PPTP was about $40/year and will work on an iPod Touch but would be a little slower because it only has one server on the east coast. The combo package would allow us flexibility to use PPTP to securely access the Internet with an iPod in a mobile/transient wireless environment…and then the faster SSL when sitting in front of a computer.
All three of these services look pretty good.
I just happened to be with a few friends from the David Police when the fire happened. I took them there and got to see the fire while it was going. I did not stay long and at the time it was mostly toward the back.
They told me there was no water pressure at all to fight the fire. Funny because several hundred (maybe thousand) people showed up to watch, so the system should have had more pressure with less people using it.
They brought in a tanker from the airport but by the time it arrived it was too late to save anything. I was also told a few tankers from the water company showed up. Many fire trucks in the US have built in pumps, however I am not sure how much that would help since many areas of David are without any water all day long.
Anyway from what I was told, the fire could have been brought under control if there was water pressure but the whole store is a loss. Maybe it is time for business here to step in and work with the government to solve these problems as it is evident the government is incapable of doing it on there own.
I have a hot water shower that turns on as water passes through it, it will only work late at night so I had to install a pump to shower during the day. However I am lucky since I do have water all day long even if there is little pressure.
Here where I live there are no water meters, just a flat rate. Several of my neighbors have bought small pools, about 7-8 feet round around by 3 high. They dump the water out after using it and refill again the next day. If there were meters he the people would be using 5% percent of what they use now. It does not make any sense. However this is not the big problem and the overall water problem needs to be solved here. Too bad the President was not in town when this happened.
Another problem brought on by low or no water pressure is the possibility of impurities being drawn INTO the water pipes. With positive pressure, any seepage in the plumbing is to the outside so the water stays pure. Once the pressure in the pipe is gone, public health issues are a certainty for anyone drinking unfiltered water.
I have routinely drunk the water in Boquete during visits with no ill effects but Boquete is “upstream” from most of the surrounding area so its water has less chance of contamination.
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
I would not want people to get confused and think that Boquete is without water problems. I know in Santa Lucia that all houses have reserve tanks and many other areas in Boquete as well.
[...] PANAMA Rodelag Fire [...]
Correcting my post above. The rear section of the store, which is used for storing things and not in the public are was a complete loss. The actual fire did not get into (or far into) the customer area of the store due to a concrete wall. However there is plenty of heat and smoke damage.
Looks like the side walls and roof collapsed. The metal beams from the roof melted and warped quite a bit.
Word is they are going to have a sale of the things that were in the store (everything). Then it will be reopened after fixing the place up. Today I did see people working at the store.
Sorry for the misinformation.