VALENCIA, SP – A rapid, devastating fire engulfed a multi-story apartment complex in Valencia, Spain, on Thursday, resulting in at least four fatalities and 14 residents unaccounted for, according to local officials.
The blaze erupted in the late afternoon around 5:30 p.m. local time in the Campanar neighborhood. It originated on the fourth floor of one section of the complex and rapidly spread to a neighboring building.
The scene was one of chaos and desperation as the entire complex was consumed by flames. Firefighters were seen battling the inferno, with some even resorting to using a crane to rescue two residents from a balcony. One firefighter was forced to leap from the first floor onto a crash mat below.
The fire’s rapid spread was likely exacerbated by strong winds up to 40 mph, as reported by Spain’s weather agency, Aemet. The response to the disaster involved 90 soldiers from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit and 40 firefighting trucks.
Concerns have been raised about the building’s cladding, which may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread, reminiscent of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017. The building’s cladding was made of a polyurethane material, no longer widely used due to flammability concerns, and covered with aluminum, according to Esther Puchades, vice president of the College of Industrial Technical Engineers of Valencia.
The apartment complex, home to approximately 450 residents according to El Pais, consisted of two towers connected by a “panoramic lift” and contained 138 apartments. The exact number of residents present during the fire remains unclear.
Firefighters continued to douse the charred remains of the building 15 hours after the fire’s onset. Valencia Mayor María José Catalá cited the risk of the 14-story building’s collapse and the intense heat as hindrances to emergency workers searching for survivors.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the scene on Friday to express his condolences. The city has declared three days of mourning and postponed the start of a month-long annual festival.