A major fire destroys a 14-story building in the Campanar neighborhood of Valencia, where there are 138 houses and about 450 residents. However, that number can fluctuate as the population fluctuates, according to Adriana, the building's property manager and 12th-floor neighbor. The fire produces a large column of flames and thick smoke that affects most floors of the block, located at the intersection of Avenida Maestro Rodrigo and Poeta Rafael Alberti. In just half an hour, the flames engulfed the entire 2008 building, and although the number of victims is still unknown, emergency authorities have moved a field hospital to the site. At around nine in the evening, the police began gathering the residents of the property to identify them.
The emergency service has helped 14 people affected by the Campanar fire in Valencia, six of whom are firefighters who came to extinguish the flames. Nine of those affected are men between the ages of 25 and 57; 4 are women between the ages of 27 and 81; and a minor under 7 years old. With the exception of two women who were discharged “on site,” the rest were transferred to various hospital centers in the capital. The burning apartment complex consists of two joined blocks, one 14 floors high and the other 10 floors high. Both burned down completely. They are located in an independent block, separated from the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood that were not affected by the flames.
The flames are still alive four hours after the incident began and the temperature is so high that it is now impossible to enter the building. Those rescued are immediately asked about the presence of other people in their homes and outbuildings, but there is no certainty until the apartments can be entered. “We also don’t know how many neighbors weren’t home this afternoon,” says a source.
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The flames engulfed the entire facade and threw some parts of the building several meters away. The fire started on one of the ground floors but quickly spread to the rest of the block. The police have closed the access road to avoid accidents and to facilitate the arrival of emergency vehicles. The emergency call centers, which received the report after 5:30 p.m., also asked via social networks not to approach the scene of the fire and the surrounding areas “as this could be dangerous and to facilitate the work of the firefighters.”
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Two people wait on the balcony to be rescued during the fire: Mónica Torres
Two people wait on the balcony to be rescued during the fire.Manuel Bruque (EFE)
Firefighters are preparing to rescue two trapped people. Monica Torres
Two people trapped in the fire give the firefighters the OK signal. Monica Torres
The couple was rescued by firefighters during the fire.Monica Torres
Several neighbors watch the burning building. Monica Torres
The President of the Valencian Generalitat, Carlos Mazón (center), and the mayor of the city, María José Catalá (right), near the fire. Manuel Bruque (EFE)
A team of firefighters works during the fire. Monica Torres
Ambulance and police officers in front of the burning building. Monica Torres
A firefighter tries to extinguish the burning building in the Campanar district of Valencia this Thursday.Eduardo Manzana (Europa Press)
Adriana, the property manager, near the building. Eva Manez (Portal)
View of the fire that broke out in a residential building in Valencia. Monica Torres
An agent observes the burning building.Eduardo Manzana (Europa Press)
Detail of the facade of the burned building. Monica Torres
Neighbors watch as a block of flats burns in Valencia. Alberto Saiz (AP/LaPresse)
Flames engulf the building in the Campanar district. Alberto Saiz (AP)
The field hospital was set up on General Avilés Avenue. Eva Manez (Portal)
A column of smoke rises from the burning building. Manuel Bruque (EFE)
Neighbors near the building affected by the flames. Eva Manez (Portal)
Flames engulf two buildings in the Campanar district.Eduardo Manzana – Europa Press (Europa Press)
Firefighters spray the burning apartment block.Alberto Saiz (AP/LaPresse)
General view of the burned building. Alberto Saiz (AP/LaPresse)
Firefighters are working on the fire reported in the Campanar district. Manuel Bruque (EFE)
The flames consume the roofs of the building's facade. Monica Torres
General view of the fire, which was declared around half past five this afternoon. Manuel Bruque (EFE)
Neighbors watch the burning building. Monica Torres
Emergency services are attending to a neighbor who was evacuated from the burning building. Monica Torres
Rear of the burning building in the Campanar district. Monica Torres
Flames engulf the 14-story building in Valencia's Campanar district, between Maestro Rodrigo and Poeta Rafel Alberti streets. Monica Torres
Column of smoke above the building in the first moments of the fire. Monica Torres
View of the fire in a building in the Campanar district of Valencia.112 Valencia
David Higuera, technical engineer and expert in building installations, points out that, according to all indications, the material used in the facade was responsible for the rapid spread of the fire. These are aluminum panels with a synthetic insulator that is “highly flammable.” “They have very good thermal behavior against heat and cold, but these synthetic foams are very flammable,” he assures.
Carlos and Dani, two 16-year-old boys who were in a park next to the building when the fire broke out, watched “stunned” as the fire spread “upwards” in a few minutes. “It went along the aluminum panels of the facade or behind it, always upwards,” comments Carlos. Both claim they saw neighbors gesturing and “screaming” for help on their balconies. And they show a video they took from the park. Another neighbor pointed out that, according to the doorman, the fire started in the curtains of a house.
Ana María González, a witness who works at a clinic near the fire, said firefighters rescued a teenager who was on the ground floor, while other troops helped a person trapped on the same floor. Emergency services tried to set up an inflatable mattress, but it was in vain because the items that caught fire made it impossible to use the tool. This witness stated that she saw “burning plates” falling to the ground that firefighters were trying to put out.
112 mobilized ten municipal firefighters, two SAMU and one SVB, to the scene of the fire, which apparently started on the fourth floor of the building and spread to the rest of the building, according to Emergencies. X (formerly Twitter). In addition, a support and coordination unit, a casualty vehicle and a field hospital as well as three SAMU, two more Basic Life Support and a conventional ambulance were mobilized.
The Ministry of Defense has activated personnel from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) from Madrid who are traveling to Valencia. Specifically, the Third Emergency Operations Battalion (BIEM III), stationed in the UME facilities at the Jaime I military base in the municipality of Bétera (Valencia), has moved. The fire brigade was provided with all extinguishing material, motor pumps and sanitary facilities for both the emergency services and those who were not there.
Meanwhile, residents in the area have mobilized to bring clothing, blankets and food to those affected. One of the places where this distribution is organized is the Valientes School Academy, which has been transformed into a spontaneous assistance center.
[Noticia de última hora. Habrá ampliación en breve]