“It burned like a fault”: dismay and solidarity after the Valencia fire | News today

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Firefighters have accessed the upper floors of the burning building in the Campanar neighborhood of Valencia to try to locate possible victims.

Photo: EFE – Biel Aliño

Until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, everything was going on normally in Valencia. The quiet afternoon of the mild winter that the city is experiencing, yesterday with temperatures of up to 24 degrees, was only disturbed by strong gusts of wind from the West of up to 60 km/hour, which, together with a relative air humidity of 26 % (very low for a Mediterranean city like the Levantine capital) were additional collaborators for the disaster that was about to happen.

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The person in charge of one of the commercial establishments located on the ground floor of the affected buildings was outside making a professional call on his mobile phone when he noticed that one of the balconies of the apartment block was on fire. After calling the firefighters, and contacting Julián, the building’s doorman, who at that moment was already active to notify all the neighbors, he proceeded to urge his colleagues to evacuate the offices. “What was initially a fire in a home, in a matter of minutes became a massive fire, spreading, clearly and with the naked eye, along the façade, to the nearby homes with a speed that seemed unreal, more typical of special effects. from an action movie. “It looked like a building made of cork.” Disbelief was on all the faces of the people near the area, both neighbors and onlookers.

The ‘City of Fire’, stunned by such a rapid and destructive fire

It is important to emphasize, without any frivolity, that we are talking about one of the cities in the world most familiar with fire, since its annual festivals, the world-famous “Fallas of Valencia”, revolve around fire, and culminate with “La Cremà”: the burning of more than 800 Fallas monuments, which consist of figures and compositions of giant figures, made of combustible material, some as tall as residential buildings. One more fact: another highlight of Las Fallas is the so-called “Nit del Foc” (Fire Night), which gives its name to the firing of a spectacular fireworks display, and which annually brings together more than 500,000 people. Therefore, the general comment, among all those present, is that “the building was burning like a fault.” In this televised tragedy, dramatic moments were experienced live, such as the rescue of the couple formed by Sara and Ammar, sheltered on the balcony of their house, and carried out by firefighters using an extendable ladder, in the midst of the flames that devoured the building. . The attitude and professionalism of the crews of different fire departments and the Military Emergency Unit has been epic and has prevented the tragedy from becoming even greater.

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Ventilated façade, chimney effect and different explanations

The explanation for this rapid and forceful calcination lies, according to the experts consulted, in the materials used in the cladding of the façade and in its installation system.

The façade had been embellished in its entirety with aluminum plates, and, to achieve the effect called “ventilated façade” (forming an insulating chamber, which breaks the thermal bridge and significantly improves the temperature inside the apartment), they were not directly fixed. on the wall, but leaving a 10 cm gap, covered with polyurethane, an insulating but flammable material. The fact that there were no “firebreaks” on the façade, between the floors, caused not only the “chimney effect” (by which the hot and less dense air quickly rises to the upper part of the façade, and generates fresh air arrives again from the bottom), but that the entire “chimney” was a combustible material in itself.

In the latest information, it is pointed out that the technical memory of the building’s materials indicates that the insulating material was “rock wool” instead of polyurethane, something that clashes with the speed of propagation, since it is a material with a very high flame resistance. In that case, the experts would blame the rapid spread of fire on the adhesive resin with which the façade components were glued. The Technical Office of Forensic Engineering, once the fire was controlled and extinguished, is already investigating to find the truth and clarify the facts, after the chaos and exchange of information typical of these intense situations. A long road is predicted for him. Let us remember that the commission of inquiry to discern the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which occurred in 2017, took two years to issue the final technical report. What happened in that 24-story building has many similarities with what happened on Maestro Rodrigo Street in the Valencian neighborhood of Campanar, in terms of the rapid spread of the flames and the total calcination. Fortunately, nothing to see for now in terms of death figures, since in the English capital the number rose to 72.

In any case, the presence of a combustion accelerator is clear to the naked eye, even for the most layman in the matter, as the main cause, to which were added the others mentioned: very powerful wind, environmental dryness, high temperature, etc As it was, the catastrophe was already served. At this time, the official figures provided by the Government Delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, indicate at least ten deaths, already located in situ in the building by the advance team of the fire department, and 1 still missing, although not It is ruled out that these numbers may increase as all areas of the building are accessed. As for those hospitalized, there are only two left, members of the firefighting teams, and without a serious prognosis. Among a public body so experienced and dedicated to public service, the fact of knowing that more than 20 firefighters have needed psychological assistance clearly demonstrates the harshness of the moments experienced during this tragedy.

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Unity of administrations and official aid

All official levels have reacted forcefully and with total unity, leaving aside colors or parties, a novelty in Spanish political and official news. Both the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the regional president, Carlos Mazón, and the mayor of the city, María José Catalá, have appeared in the area, in front of a building that is practically still smoking, to offer support to the victims, and, What is more important, to inform about the measures that will be taken immediately to support those affected who lived in the 138 razed homes. The aid issued includes free accommodation in hotels and fully equipped public housing, direct subsidy of between 6,000 and 10,000 euros (26 to 43 million pesos) to each family unit, aid for the temporary rental of housing of up to 1,500 euros per family. (6.5 million pesos), tax exemption on the purchase of new housing, free transportation, total preference in the reassignment of places in nursing homes or school places, and continuous psychological assistance for the necessary time, among others measures, which also remember the great forgotten in these tragedies: pets, for whom medical help and accommodation are offered. Already in the field of symbolic measures, three days of official mourning have been decreed throughout the Valencia Community, with direct impact on the celebrations prior to the start of the Fallas festival, which this weekend had its starting point in La Crida, a massive and festive event that announces the imminence of the next citizen festivals, and which has been suspended. The local soccer teams, Valencia and Levante, have also postponed their matches this weekend. All those responsible have assured that work is beginning now to know with certainty how the fire started, as well as the causes of such rapid and devastating burning.

Homes with “highest quality in construction materials”

There are more factors to increase the perplexity and disbelief at what happened: we are looking at two residential buildings (14 floors and 138 homes, between 1 and 3 bedrooms) of high standing, with prices that started at around 6,000 euros per square meter. , or the 300,000 euros per device. Its construction ended in 2008, but since it began in 2005 it did not have to comply with the new Technical Building Code of 2006, which is more demanding in terms of safety, such as the sectorization of areas to prevent the spread of fire between them. The developer Fbex was responsible for the construction of the two damaged blocks, which, in its advertising video about the housing development, it described as “two avant-garde and unique buildings, with facades covered with an innovative alucobond-type aluminum material ( The manufacturing company defines it as “a composite panel formed by two aluminum cover sheets and a core filled with hardly flammable or non-flammable mineral aggregate, synonymous with sustainable construction quality and the highest design standards”). We offer maximum quality in construction materials with modern facilities, finishes and equipment, applying rigorous quality controls throughout the building process.” Unfortunately, it is clear that what was advertised did not correspond to reality. It is not at all surprising to know that Fbex Promo Inmobiliaria SL filed for bankruptcy just two years after the work, in 2010, reporting a debt of 640 million euros (2.8 billion Colombian pesos).

All of Valencia dedicated to the victims

Within this tragedy, which has shocked and knocked out the entire city, there have also been lights of hope, such as the rapid solidarity response from all of Valencia, both with regard to individuals and companies. Queues of citizens immediately formed to donate clothing, food, medicine, offer accommodation, etc.; For their part, supermarkets in the area extended their hours to provide free assistance to the needs of homeless residents and the intervention teams working on site. Various clothing franchises and brands from shopping centers have also been added to the aid, offering free products to neighbors who have lost absolutely everything. Apart from the accommodation provided by official organizations, several hotels in the city have also offered free rooms to these families who became homeless in just one hour.

Likewise, the multiple and continuous “scenes” of citizen heroism are comforting, such as that of Manuel, a neighbor of the damaged building who, while evacuating his home on the 12th floor and his 80-year-old mother, was able to warn all the neighbors that he could to get them evicted, or that of the doorman Julián, who went door to door calling as many people as possible, and who was a decisive factor in ensuring that the tragedy did not get worse.

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