Alex Trelinski
THREE members of the same family died in an apartment block fire in the early hours of Monday morning in Villajoyosa.
The blaze started in an eleventh-floor home on Avenida dels Mariners at around 2.15am and was brought under control by fire crews 75 minutes later.
Authorities said that a five-year-old boy, his father, and grandmother were killed, with up to 15 people needing treatment for smoke inhalation.
The boy was reportedly found hugging his pet dog, which also perished.
All of those suffering from inhaling smoke- barring a Policia Local officer-were taken to the Marina Baixa Hospital in Villajoyosa.
Unlike the tragic fire in Valencia on February 28 that claimed 10 lives as it quickly spread through the housing complex, the Villajoyosa blaze was confined to just the 11th floor in the 24-storey building.
Around 120 people were evacuated as a precaution.
The Guardia Civil says the fire started as a result of an ‘overloaded’ electrical socket in the living room.
The blaze created a lot of smoke which spread to common areas on the 11th floor.
The Alicante Provincial Council president, Toni Perez, and Villajoyosa mayor. Marcos Zaragoza visited the scene on Monday morning.
Perez expressed at his sorry about the deaths and praised the work of firefighters who kept the blaze confined to just one home.
Mayor Zaragoza said he was relieved that the death toll wasn’t higher and emphasised that good procedures and the concrete facade prevented a tragedy on the scale of Campanar.
The block was constructed in 2008 and contained ventilated concrete facades that stopped the fire spreading.
Three days of official mourning have been declared in Villajoyosa.
READ MORE:
- Valencia fire: Death toll of ‘Spain’s Grenfell’ reaches 10 – including a mother and her children
- King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain meet victims of the deadly Valencia fire
