Santiago renames Capuchinos Street as Martyr Firefighter Elías Cares Squiff

The Municipality of Santiago changed the name of Capuchinos street, in the section between Rosas and Santo Domingo streets, to “Bombero Mártir Elías Cares Squiff”, in homage to the volunteer of the Twelfth Fire Company of Santiago “Chile-Excelsior” who died in the line of duty in 1976. The measure was approved by the Honorable Municipal Council of Santiago through Agreement No. 240, adopted in its Ordinary Session No. 18 on June 25, 2026, and formalized by decree Secc. 2ª Núm. 7.578, of Santiago, August 26, 2026. The text was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,558, on Friday, September 25, 2026, Section I, General Norms, with the official reference CVE 2873383.

The regulation was issued under Law No. 18,695, Organic Constitutional Law of Municipalities, whose Article 5, letter c), empowers municipalities to assign and change the name of national assets for public use following a report from the Communal Council of Civil Society Organizations, and whose Article 79, letter k), requires the agreement of the Municipal Council for that purpose. The decree stipulates that the change is effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette and that the section is officially named “Bombero Mártir Elías Cares Squiff” for all legal and administrative purposes.

The homage to a volunteer who died in 1976

According to the background provided by the Twelfth Fire Company of Santiago, Elías Cares Squiff was born in Santiago in 1952, joined that company on March 17, 1970, and died on June 6, 1976, as a result of injuries sustained in a traffic accident that occurred while his unit’s truck was responding to a command call. The file indicates that the homage is materialized upon the fiftieth anniversary of his death.

The initiative was presented by the company through Secretariat Note No. 18-2026, dated March 10, 2026, and had the support of the “General Bulnes” Neighborhood Association, which, by letter dated March 12, 2026, highlighted the community significance of the homage and noted that the name change would facilitate the identification of the road for operational and emergency purposes.

A process with heritage concerns

The process included several technical and legal reports:

• Legal Advisory Directorate: Memorandum No. 1213, dated April 20, 2026, which considered the change of name feasible.
• Traffic and Public Transport Directorate: Memorandum No. 23, dated May 4, 2026, with no objections within its area of competence.
• Municipal Works Directorate: Ordinary No. T-2069/2026, dated May 7, 2026, with an unfavorable opinion due to the preservation of historical nomenclature.
• Communal Council of Civil Society Organizations: report issued in its Ordinary Session No. 03, dated May 28, 2026.
• Commission for Neighborhoods, Heritage, and Urban Development: session of June 16, 2026, which recommended approving the proposal.

The heritage objection was based on the fact that the section is located in the Yungay and Brasil Neighborhoods Typical Zone, faces Historical Conservation Properties Nos. 289, 288, 287, 1224, 286, 284, and 285, and is close to Historical Conservation Property No. 37, the Capuchin Church, designed by architect Eusebio Chelli, whose construction began in 1853 and was inaugurated in 1861. The Municipal Works Directorate further warned that the alley between San Pablo and Rosas, west of Bandera, is called Pasaje Capuchinas and not Calle Capuchinos, and proposed as an alternative a road between Maturana and Pasaje Delfina, on the south sidewalk of Plaza Panamá. The decree resolved that the public interest of the tribute justifies, in this particular case, implementing the agreed change.

Implementation and notified agencies

The decree entrusts the adoption of necessary administrative and technical measures—updating of road signage, urban nomenclature, cadastres, cartography, and information systems—to the Municipal Works Directorate, the Traffic and Public Transport Directorate, the Community Development Directorate, the Communal Planning Secretariat, and the Information Technology Directorate.

The administrative act was signed by Mario Desbordes Jiménez, Mayor of Santiago, and Patricio Ossa Cortés, Municipal Secretary, and its transcription was ordered to the Santiago Fire Department, Civil Registry and Identification Service, Electoral Service, Correos de Chile, basic utility companies, Carabineros de Chile, Investigations Police of Chile, Senapred, Metropolitan Regional Government, and the Metropolitan Regional Presidential Delegation.

The name change requires residents, businesses, and services in the sector to update addresses, documentation, and records with multiple agencies, and turns the memory of a volunteer who died at age 24 into a permanent part of the commune’s nomenclature.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,558, Friday, September 25, 2026, Section I, General Norms, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2873383).