Fire Destroys UFPE Research Building Containing Decades of Samples

Overview

• A large blaze tore through an older UFPE building on Wednesday night, destroying the second floor, damaging laboratories in pharmacy, genetics and computing, and prompting an initial loss estimate of about R$100 million from the university rector.
• The Federal Police opened a criminal inquiry and dispatched peritos, drones and remote-imaging tools while the damaged building remains isolated pending forensic work.
• The Ministry of Education pledged roughly R$28 million to build a larger replacement facility and said about R$100 million will be directed to replace equipment, with reconstruction to begin after pericial clearance—an investigation window the ministry estimated at about 30 days.
• Researchers reported irreplaceable losses of samples and long-running data—including roughly ten years of genetic material for liver cancer work—and the rector said some 80 to 200 dissertations and theses were affected, threatening careers and ongoing projects.
• This was the third fire at UFPE in about a week, prompting demands from the student union for transparency about maintenance and safety; social-media messages alleging threats are under review but their authorship remains unverified.