Fire Contained at Rio’s Ceasa Market as Police Probe Cause

Overview

• Firefighters, who were called around 7 a.m. Tuesday, controlled flames at Pavilion 22 by about 8 a.m. and fully extinguished them near 11:09 a.m., with no injuries reported by the corps.
• The blaze reached at least six shops across Pavilions 22 and 23, a fruit store was destroyed, and the city’s civil defense interdicted 10 boxes with no collapse risk while the rest of the market stayed open.
• Civil Police opened an inquiry at the 27th Precinct into the origin of the fire after a Ceasa security worker suggested a short circuit as a possible cause.
• Workers and city crews cleared burned pallets, cardboard, and crates that help fire spread quickly in open markets, and Ceasa began relocating affected vendors to keep trade running.
• Officials said an older, lower-capacity water network is being replaced by a higher-capacity sprinkler system after major fires in 2025 at Ceasa facilities, underscoring repeated safety gaps at a hub that serves some 60,000 people and 40,000 vehicles daily.