Two elderly people aged 86 and 87, a man and a woman, have died in a fire declared in their home around 7:50 this Friday, located on the fifth floor of a seven-story building on Calle de Almería in Madrid, near from the Las Ventas bullring, in the Salamanca district.
As reported to this newspaper by a spokesman for Madrid Emergencies, upon the arrival of the firefighters "the fire had spread to the house, which was completely on fire", but the troops managed to get both victims out of it, who had already died from smoke inhalation, according to a spokesman for the National Police, which is still investigating the causes of the fire.
Samur doctors have only been able to confirm the deaths.
Fire in a house in Las Ventas, Madrid.
#fire @InformativosTM @informativost5 @rtvenoticias pic.twitter.com/1bTb9zZVOU
— Gabriela Anna (@GabrielaAnna) March 17, 2023
Roberto González Rodríguez, chief of the fire department, explained that the fire originated in a room in the house and then spread to various parts of the house.
After receiving the call warning of a fire, the firefighters have moved to the street and have found the flames spreading through the terrace of the fifth and sixth floors, with abundant smoke coming out of the window.
They have reviewed the house in search of victims in parallel to the extinction, which has lasted for approximately two hours due to the search for traces of fire in the property, according to Rodríguez.
“The lower floors have not been necessary to evacuate, but the upper floors have.
At one point they decided to lower three people to the landing, while the ventilation ends, ”he explains.
The flames on the fifth floor were spreading up the façade and part of the terrace on the sixth floor has also been affected by heat and smoke.
Workers move the body of one of the elderly after the fire, this Friday.
Kiko Huesca (EFE)
After quickly extinguishing the fire, the firefighters continue to cool the embers and to inspect the building, at number 6 Calle de Almería, while the National Police investigates the causes of the fire.
In principle, it does not appear that there is structural damage, according to sources from Emergencies.
The origin and cause of the flames is unknown, as it was so widespread when the firefighters arrived.
There are no more injured or intoxicated, since the rest of the residents have remained confined to their homes, to prevent them from being intoxicated by smoke inhalation.
Two neighbors have been treated by Samur psychologists for anxiety crises and discharged at the scene.
Around nine in the morning, the firefighters have let out of the building a family that was going to school with their two children.
The parents, shocked by what happened, said that they felt terrible and that they did not know the deceased.
"A lot of people live in this building, we barely know the neighbors, but it's a disgrace," said the father.
"The firefighters have asked us to stay home while they work," explained the mother.
In the portal, a woman was crying while she declined to comment.
One of the neighbors in the room, Guillermo, explains that he was half awake in bed when he heard the sirens of the fire brigade.
He has looked out the door and has seen the flames on the stairs of the fifth around 7.45.
He has taken his dog and they have left the building.
He didn't know the deceased either.
About a quarter to ten in the morning the judicial services have arrived to order the removal of the corpses, and shortly after the funeral services.
.@SAMUR_PC confirms the death of a man and a woman around 85 years old in a house fire that occurred in Almería street, #Salamanca district.@BomberosMad have rescued the victims and extinguished the fire, widespread in the house.
pic.twitter.com/e3entCCqwC
– Madrid Emergencies (@EmergenciasMad) March 17, 2023
The smoke from the fire was coming out of the terrace and the column that it has formed was visible from different parts of the city during rush hour.
The cars slowed down to see and record the fire, which has generated a major traffic jam on the M-30 and withholdings on Calle Alcalá.
Nana, one of the neighbors of the third floor, runs a shop that sells uniforms a few meters from the house and she did know the two deceased: "Every time I saw them I said that it was a love story that had to be copied."
Fire in front of the Las Ventas bullring.
Right now.
pic.twitter.com/aVITA5VVdk
– p.fede_ (@BPapeta) March 17, 2023
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