2024 València residential complex fire
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|
 The complex on the day after the fire | |
| Date | 22 February 2024 |
|---|---|
| Location | València, Spain |
| Coordinates | 39°28′57″N 0°24′8″W / 39.48250°N 0.40222°WCoordinates: 39°28′57″N 0°24′8″W / 39.48250°N 0.40222°W ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽ |
| Type | Structure fire |
| Deaths | 10[1][2][3] |
| Non-fatal injuries | 15 |
| Missing | 1[1][2] |
On 22 February 2024, at approximately 17:30 CET,[4] a devastating fire broke out in a 14-storey luxury[5][6] residential complex located in the Campanar district of València, Spain.[7] The rapid spread of the fire, exacerbated by strong winds, building materials and a stack effect, led to the complete destruction of the complex's 138 apartments, trapping numerous residents inside.[8] Nine bodies were recovered from the building following an inspection by forensic police, one person is missing, and 15 people were injured during the blaze, including several firefighters.[1][2]
Background[edit]
The fire occurred in a two-building residential complex with an area of 3,724 square meters at the intersection of Avenida General Avilés and Avenida Maestro Rodrigo in the Campanar neighborhood of València.[8]
Initially thought to mirror the circumstances of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, where polyurethane and aluminium cladding were used,[2][7] the two-tower complex in València actually presents a different scenario. Constructed between 2005 and 2009 by the private developer Fbex, which went bankrupt in 2010 due to the Great Recession,[9] the buildings were clad in Alucobond aluminium composite panel. However, in contrast to early reports, the insulation material used was rock wool, a non-combustible substance. Investigations are now focusing on a thermoplastic material, possibly a resin used to adhere the aluminum cladding, as the potential accelerant of the fire.[10]
Esther Puchades, the vice president of the València College of Industrial and Technical Engineers who had also inspected the building, said that the fire was the first of its kind in Spain.[2]
Fire[edit]
It is believed that immediately after the fire broke out in a 7th-floor[11] apartment at around 17:30 CET,[4] many lives were saved by the actions of one of the building's doormen who banged on the residents' doors shouting "fire" and ordered them to evacuate the building.[12] Multiple witnesses nearby captured the early stages of the blaze on their smartphones, showing how it quickly intensified and began spreading across the façade.[4][13][11]
Firefighters, ambulances and law enforcement arrived at the scene soon after.[4][14][15] Witnesses indicated that the blaze had engulfed the entire first building "in a matter of 10 minutes", and soon spread to the second.[7] Due to the high temperatures firefighters were only able to access up to the 12th floor of the building,[16] but were able to rescue some residents.[17] Winds of around 60 kilometres per hour (32 kn) and gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour (54 kn) were also recorded in the area at the time.[18] Due to the strong wind the fire was fanned and next to that the water jets were blown away from the building.[19] A father and daughter who were trapped on a balcony were rescued by firefighters using an extendable fire ladder crane.[20] Footage of a firefighter jumping from a seventh floor balcony to a safety mat in order to evacuate was shown in multiple Spanish news outlets.[14]
Because of the magnitude of the disaster, the civilian authorities also requested assistance from the Military Emergencies Unit.[7] About forty fire engines and ninety soldiers were deployed.[19] A field hospital was also set up in the area.[7] During the morning of 23 February the fire brigade was unable to search for missing people inside the apartment complex due to the extreme heat in the building.[21] Drones were utilized by rescue workers to search the building while emergency personal worked to cool the exterior, in order to locate the bodies of potential victims.[22]
Victims[edit]
Initially fifteen people were hospitalized, including six firefighters and a child.[7] By the following day, emergency services had confirmed nine fatalities, including four members of the same family with two little children, and an elderly couple,[8] while 1 individual was reported as missing.[1][2]
It is the deadliest fire in València since an arson in 1447 that gutted the city center and claimed 10 lives.[23][24]
Aftermath[edit]
People set up campaigns to collect clothing for the displaced people.[21] Donations of food, clothing and toiletries were made.[25] Taxi drivers offered free transportation to affected families and residents to get to hotels that had been set up as temporary shelters.[14]
Reactions[edit]
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, Valencia mayor María José Catalá, and central government delegate to the Valencian Community Pilar Bernabé expressed dismay over the disaster and asked residents not to go near the area to ensure the work of emergency services.[8] Catalá later declared three days of official mourning because of the fire. A number of events, including the first day of the Valencia Fallas, were canceled as a result.[26]
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez tweeted he was "shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia" and offered "all the help that is necessary."[18] During the morning of 23 February he visited the disaster area.[19] Leader of the opposition Alberto Núñez Feijóo also expressed "great concern" over the disaster.[8] The Royal Household also issued an official communiqué, in which it stated that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia "were following the evolution of the fire in Valencia with concern", as well as sending their full support to the emergency services and best wishes for the recovery of the injured.[27] Pope Francis sent a telegram expressing his condolences over the disaster.[28]
A LaLiga match between Valencia and Granada that was due to be held on 24 February at the Mestalla Stadium was postponed following the fire.[29] Valencia CF said they were "devastated" by the fire and would fly flags at half mast at all of their facilities.[30] A match between Levante and Andorra that was also due on 24 February was also postponed due to the fire. The Royal Spanish Football Federation said a minute of silence would be held before the UEFA Women's Nations League semifinal match between Spain and the Netherlands in Seville on 23 February.[31]
See also[edit]
- Grenfell Tower fire
- Hotel Corona de Aragón fire
- List of building or structure fires
- List of high-rise façade fires
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Final death toll from Spanish tower block blaze is nine, say police". The Guardian. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Leon, Alicia (2024-02-23). "Death toll in Spanish building fire hits 9, with 1 missing, as questions grow about speed of blaze". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ "Death toll rises after huge fire in Valencia apartment blocks". BBC News. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
We're wrapping up our live coverage of the fire that tore through adjoining apartment buildings in Valencia on Thursday evening, killing ten people - including four members of one family.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "¿Qué se sabe del edificio incendiado en Valencia? El viento y los materiales, posibles causas de la propagación". RTVE.es (in español). 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ Villena, Tamara (22 February 2024). "El edificio calcinado en Campanar, una promoción de lujo del boom inmobiliario en la Comunitat" [The Scorched Building in Campanar: A Luxury Development from the Real Estate Boom in the (Valencian) Community]. Las Provincias (in español). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ Ortega, Nacho (23 February 2024). "Así eran por dentro los pisos de lujo del edificio incendiado en Valencia: piscina, spa, sauna, jacuzzi..." [This is What the Luxury Apartments Inside the Burned Building in Valencia Were Like: Pool, Spa, Sauna, Jacuzzi...]. Las Provincias (in español). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Seddon, Sean; Vock, Ido (22 February 2024). "Valencia fire: High-rise building engulfed by flames in Spain". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Serrano, A. (23 February 2024). "At least six dead and 13 missing in Valencia tower block fire". Sur in English. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ Fabra, María (2024-02-23). "High-rise complex consumed by fire in Spain was made in 2008 with 'innovative materials' by a developer that went bankrupt". El País. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ Pichel, José; Méndez, M. A. (2024-02-23). "Un revestimiento mortífero: así era la fachada del edificio que ardió en Valencia" [A Deadly Cladding: This Was the Facade of the Building That Burned in Valencia]. El Confidencial (in español). Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sánchez de Castro, David (2024-02-23). "Así empezó el incendio de Valencia: se originó en el séptimo piso y se extendió". ABC (in español). Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ ""Si hubiera pasado de noche..."". La Vanguardia (in español). 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ "Valencia fire: Early videos show how flames spread". BBC News. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chaundler, Rachel (2024-02-23). "At Least 9 Die as Fire Engulfs High-Rise Complex in Spain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ Rebaza, Atika Shubert, Claudia (2024-02-22). "Valencia, Spain: Deadly fire engulfs apartment building in Spanish city". CNN. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ "Valencia fire: Nine bodies found as Spanish police search gutted flats". BBC News. 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ Wright, George (2024-02-23). "What we know so far after Valencia tower block fire". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Saiz, Alberto (23 February 2024). "Fire engulfs 2 buildings in Spanish city of Valencia, killing at least 4 people. Nearly 20 missing". The Associated Press. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Spanje rouwt na flatbrand: 'Eerst opvang regelen, dan onderzoek wat misging'". NOS (in Nederlands). 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ Dollimore, Laurence (22 February 2024). "WATCH: 'Father and daughter' are rescued from apartment block inferno in Spain after enduring more than an hour of intense smoke – as witnesses warn 'there are many people trapped inside'". The Olive Press. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Hitte uitgebrande flat Valencia hindert zoektocht naar vermisten". NOS (in Nederlands). 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ "Deadly fire in Spain's southern city of Valencia has grim echoes of London Grenfell Tower disaster". CBS News. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ Marrahí, Juan Antonio; Pérez Puche, Francisco (22 February 2024). "Los incendios más graves de Valencia" [The Worst Fires in Valencia]. Las Provincias (in español). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ Chavarría, Marco (22 February 2024). "El incendio de Valencia despierta memorias del fuego que cambió la ciudad en el siglo XV" [The Valencia Fire Awakens Memories of the Blaze That Changed the City in the 15th Century]. La Razón (in español). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ "Valencia fire: Ten bodies found as Spanish police search gutted flats". BBC News. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ Villena, Tamara (23 February 2024). "Valencia decreta tres días de luto y suspende la macrodespertà, la mascletà y la Crida del domingo". Las Provincias (in español). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ↑ El mensaje de Felipe VI y Letizia tras el devastador incendio: "Nuestro corazón está con los valencianos" Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
- ↑ "Death toll in Spanish building fire hits 9, with 1 missing, as questions grow about speed of blaze". The Associated Press. 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ↑ "Valencia game called off after deadly fire in city". BBC Sport. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ "Valencia CF join condolences for victims of fire tragedy in Campanar neighborhood and request the postponement of the match against Granada CF". Valencia CF. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ "Soccer games involving Valencia and Levante postponed after deadly fire in eastern Spain". The Associated Press. 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
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