An apartment building was largely destroyed in a huge fire in the Spanish coastal metropolis of Valencia yesterday. At least four people were killed. But more victims are feared. According to emergency services, the fire broke out in an apartment on the fourth floor and spread quickly.
AP/Alberto Saiz
On social media it was possible to see how the facade of the relatively new house shone brightly from the ground floor to the flat roof. The building looked like a huge torch. Burning parts of the facade, made of apparently highly flammable material, fell into the depths and continued to burn there.
According to the rescue service, 16 fire engines were mobilized to fight the fire. There was a huge cloud of black smoke above the building. Strong winds fueled the fire even further.
According to media reports, the facade of the house, completed in 2005, was made up of aluminum panels under which a layer of rigid fire-retardant polyurethane foam was fixed. It is still unclear why the fire spread so quickly across the facade.