by Rod Hughes
The three-judge panel hearing the case of Juan Carlos Ledezma, accused of setting the fire at Calderon Guardia Hospital that killed 19 persons July 15, 2005, was not fooling around.
While Ledezma stood motionless and impassive Wednesday, the panel president read the sentence: 50 years in prison, the maximum the law allows. The sentence now goes automatically to the Supreme Court’s Third Chamber for review, either confirming it or ordering a new trial.
Prosecuting attorney Paola Guido praised the investigation that revealed that Ledezma, a medical assistant at the facility, was seen leaving the storage closet (where the fire started) just seconds before the conflagration was noticed. The defense suggested that cause of the fire could have been from a short circuit in a flourescent light fixture in the closet but prosecution witnesses testified that the fire started low and crept up the shelves and walls, not the opposite.
The prosecution claimed that Ledezma had been praised for his actions during a previous fire and was attempting to relive his moment of glory, but the defendant did not testify and his motive is unproven.
One of the key prosecution witnesses, Alfonso Perez, whose 17-year-old son died in the blaze, said after the trial that he intends to file a criminal complaint against such public officials as the director, administrator and chief of maintenance at the hospital and Health Ministry officials for negligence in allowing hazardous conditions at the old wing of the hospital. During the fire, extinguishers were found to be empty and the water pump for the interior fire fighting system did not work.
Last Friday, the English-language newspaper The Tico Times published an exclusive investigative report on what steps were being taken at public hospitals to beef up disaster defense. The results were grim: It could take up to 20 years and cost $100 million.
As a part of the exhaustive review, a Tico Times reporter checked out Calderon Guardia Hospital where the tragedy has occurred. Assistant Manager Carlos Alfaro wanted to proudly show the reporter the new 24-hour camera surveillance room that would warn of a fire instantly–but the room was empty and locked, the guard supposely monitoring the cameras absent on coffee break. But otherwise, reporter Blake Schmidt found vast improvement: 300 new fire extinguishers checked monthly, a backup water pump, emergency lighting on the stairs, evacuation signs.
But, Alfaro admitted much remains to be done, including adding to the 16 cameras (that cover only highest risk areas) some 200 more.