9 dead in Spain apartment fire
VALENCIA (AP) – The death toll in a fire that engulfed an apartment block in the Spanish city of Valencia rose Friday to nine, as questions were raised about whether construction materials caused the fire to spread so rapidly.
One person remained missing, according to forensic police, who after identification procedures downgraded the death toll from an official’s account of 10 provided earlier following a visual count of remains.
The fire started on Thursday evening and quickly engulfed the two residential buildings. Neighbors described seeing the rapid spread of the blaze, residents stuck on balconies and hearing children screaming.
Police found 9 bodies in the gutted residential buildings. Valencia’s national government delegate confirmed that the bodies matched the list of people that authorities had been trying to locate and that one person remained missing.
Neighbor Alejandra Alarcón said it took 15 minutes for the fire to engulf an entire building, as questions abounded as to how the fire spread so rapidly.
Experts suggested that a type of cladding might have made the blaze spread faster, but Valencia Mayor María José Catalá said the cause of the fire was still not known and it was too early to comment on whether some materials used in construction of the modern complex might have contributed.
The vice-president of the Valencia College of Industrial and Technical Engineers, Esther Puchades, said the cladding used included polyurethane and when “heated it is like plastic and it ignites.”