(Madrid) Ten people died and two others were injured on Friday in a fire at a residence for elderly people and patients with mental disorders in northeastern Spain, which may have been caused by a cigarette off.
Posted at 8:33 a.m.
The fire broke out around 5 a.m. (11 p.m. Eastern) at the Jardines de Villafranca retirement home in Villafranca de Ebro, a village of 840 residents near Zaragoza, capital of the region of Aragon, according to authorities.
In total, 71 people were in the residence when the fire broke out, and not 82 as initially announced. Among them, ten died and two were hospitalized “in critical condition”, according to the Minister of Territorial Policy Ángel Víctor Torres.
According to the mayor of Villafranca de Ebro, Volga Ramirez, the fire started in a bedroom. “We took out everyone who was alive before the firefighters arrived, only the dead remained,” said the councilor, who came to lend a hand with her husband for the evacuations.
PHOTO PABLO IBANEZ, REUTERS
A member of the Spanish Civil Guard stands near an ambulance in which one of the victims’ bodies will be transported.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the fire started from a mattress. “It was probably caused by someone who smoked in their room,” explained the head of the association managing this residence, Paquita Morata.
“Caught in the Smoke”
“I cannot yet say what is the cause of the death of each of the 10 victims, because it is the subject of an investigation,” assured the government delegate in Aragon, Fernando Beltrán, questioned by journalists at the scene of the disaster.
“But in a phenomenon of this nature, the majority of deaths are generally due to smoke inhalation,” he added, specifying that the residence accommodated people suffering from “reduced mobility or pathology.
When the fire started, the victims “were in their beds, unable to move. They were caught in the smoke,” confirmed Eduardo Sanchez, Zaragoza fire chief, specifying that the sector where the fire broke out had a fire door.
PHOTO PABLO IBANEZ, REUTERS
Zaragoza fire chief Eduardo Sanchez
Thanks to this door, “half the building was safe,” he added.
In a message on X, the president of the region, Jorge Azcón, said he was “shocked” by this “tragic fire”. “My most sincere condolences to the families of the deceased,” wrote the conservative leader, announcing a day of mourning on Saturday.
“All my affection to the families and colleagues of the dead,” reacted Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. “I hope that those in serious condition will recover as quickly as possible.”
Only two employees present
The Jardines de Villafranca residence, a one-story brick building, was opened in 2008, according to its website. For several years, this retirement home has also specialized in welcoming people suffering from mental health problems.
This residence welcomes “people from all backgrounds,” said the mayor of Villafranca de Ebro. “It’s not just elderly people, there are young people who have mental problems”, some aged “as young as 25”, she said.
According to the councilor, only two employees were in the establishment at the time of the disaster. “There were all the staff supposed to be on duty at night,” assured the manager of the residence, ensuring that security rules had been respected.
Questioned by public television TVE, Ángel Víctor Torres refused to comment on possible flaws while awaiting the results of the investigation. What is certain is that “there can be no” budgetary “cuts” when it comes to elderly people,” he said.
Several tragic fires have already occurred in recent years in Spanish retirement homes, including one a few kilometers from Villafranca de Ebro, in 2015, which left eight people dead.
In January 2022, nine people also died in a medical residence near Valence (South). And last February, three people died in a fire at a retirement home in Madrid.
