It all started before five in the morning. It all started at 4:57 a.m. With notification to 112. With a call alerting of a fire. From the fire in a retirement home in Villafranca de Ebro, Zaragoza. Of a few flames that They left 10 dead and two injured. admitted in serious condition. Thus began a tragedy which is already the most serious fire in a senior center that there were in Spain.
The fire started from one of the 36 rooms of the residence, with only one of its two wings being affected. This is where the ten deceased were found. As the emergency services report, it is thanks to a fire door through which fire could not spread.
At 5:27 a.m. the firefighters arrived
Half an hour later, at 5:27 a.m., firefighters arrived at the residence. A total of seven vehicles, with an advanced medical post. More than an hour later, at 6:30 a.m., the total evacuation of people from the residence was completed.
All thanks to the emergency services and to the two nursing assistants who worked there that night. in a residence with capacity for 77 people where a total of 69 lived. Fifty-nine of them were rescued, but two remain in serious condition.
A cigarette, possible cause of the fire
It appears that the fire was caused by a cigarette which could have caused a mattress to catch fire. “It could have been due to the fact that someone was smoking in a room,” explains Paquita Morata, head of the Aragonese addiction association.
The residents of Villafranca, dismayed by what happened. “There are those who usually come every dayThose who were released yesterday were very affected. People who work in the city are very affected. It was a disaster,” says Carlos, who runs a grocery store.
“We heard sirens. They caught our attention… at that moment, listening to the police and firefighters…”, says Laura, baker.
