On the evening of November 12, 2025, a major gas leak on a public street in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Caballito caused a fire with flames reaching approximately 12 meters in height. This led to the evacuation of residents, the intervention of dozens of firefighters, and left at least one man with severe burns.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Riglos and Formosa streets at 6:56 PM, while public lighting repairs were being carried out on the sidewalk. According to the official report from the Buenos Aires City Fire Department, the alarm was raised after personnel were alerted to a significant gas leak that had generated visible flames from the street.
City Civil Defense personnel and Metrogas staff evacuated at least nine people from a building adjacent to the fire's epicenter. Firefighters arriving at the scene set up a two 38-millimeter and one 63-millimeter line operation to contain the blaze. The Emergency Medical Attention System (SAME) assisted an elderly man with severe upper body burns, who was subsequently transferred to the Durand Hospital.
Authorities explained that primary measures, such as cutting off the supply and isolating the affected pipe, were taken to prevent further spread of the fire or an explosion. Traffic control and preventive evacuation operations were also deployed in the area.
Neighbors recounted that the explosion did not seem to originate from inside the building but on the sidewalk. One resident stated, “Suddenly we started hearing a lot of noise, and when we looked out, we saw flames.” According to Metrogas, the leak originated from a medium-pressure pipe that had a rupture on the sidewalk, possibly caused by complementary public lighting maintenance works, in an area where Edesur was also working due to an electrical emergency.
Residents are demanding that protocols be reviewed and that greater prevention be guaranteed during maintenance work near family homes and businesses. With the injured person hospitalized and the area under control, Buenos Aires authorities will need to clarify whether the origin of the leak was due to negligence in electrical maintenance, accidental contact of machinery with the gas pipe, or pipe wear that caused the loss.
While stabilization, excavation, and compression tasks on the damaged pipe continue, the Caballito neighborhood remains on alert.
