Spanish authorities reported that at least four people have been confirmed dead following a massive blaze that engulfed a high-rise residential block in the city of Valencia.
The building that burned was a 14-story block located in the Campanar neighborhood, and the blaze quickly spread to an adjoining structure. Firefighters were seen at the scene rescuing people from balconies, and 19 individuals were believed to still be unaccounted for.
Spain Apartment Fire
Officials said that at least 14 people, including six firefighters and a young child, have been injured because of the massive fire. Authorities said that high winds fanned the flames but also said they had suspicions that highly flammable cladding enabled the fire to spread relatively fast.
There were more than 20 fire crews that worked to address the fire, and by early Friday, the block was a giant fire-blackened shell. Officials urged people to stay away from the area for their safety, as per BBC.
The building was said to have contained 138 flats and was home to roughly 450 residents, reports said citing the building's manager. Local media also said that firefighters had successfully rescued several residents using cranes, including a couple who was living on the seventh floor of the building.
One woman said during an interview that she saw firefighters trying to rescue a teenage boy who was trapped on the building's first floor. A few hours after the fire broke out, questions were raised across the nation regarding the materials that were used in the construction of the building.
The vice president of the College of Industrial Technical Engineers of Valencia, Esther Puchades, said that she had previously inspected the building. She also claimed that its exterior featured a polyurethane material, which is no longer in wide use due to fears over its flammability.
Rescuing the Building's Occupants
Valencia's deputy director of emergencies, Jorge Suarez, said that given the "characteristics of the building," firefighters were unable to enter to address the blaze from the inside. Video footage showed the entire complex ablaze as flames tore through apartments and thick smoke billowing overhead, according to CNN.
Suarez added that firefighters were analyzing the building in order to assess if there was a risk of the entire structure collapsing. The blaze continued into the evening on Thursday as nearby residents looked on in horror. One person said that the scenes were "tremendous," and "unbelievable."
Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Alcala posted on social media asking residents to avoid the scene in order to help rescue services move around. Officials were organizing hotel rooms to house people whose homes were burned by the fire.
A similar incident took place in June 2017 when a blaze tore through Grenfell Tower, which was a 24-storey high-rise in west London. The incident killed 72 people, and the fire rapidly spread due to the highly combustible cladding on the block's outside walls.
A resident who lived in a nearby building to the latest building on fire, Luiz Ibanez, said that he had looked out of his window and saw flames engulfing the block within a matter of minutes. He said that it was as if it was of cork, said The Guardian.
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