Luis F. Durán Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday, February 19, 2024-01:35

  • Events Two elderly women died and another in critical condition in the fire of a residence in Madrid

Yesterday morning, a defective mobile charger could have started the fire at the Juan XXIII nursing home in Aravaca (Madrid), in which two elderly women aged 90 and 93 died, another 80-year-old woman was seriously injured and 16 residents were injured. More were hospitalized in mild condition. It was the residence's own workers who declared to the Police that in the room where the fire broke out, a mobile phone was being charged with a cable when the device began to burn, causing the subsequent fire in the room on the first floor where they slept. Lucía, 90 years old, Isabel, 93, and another elderly woman.

Some of the employees claimed that faulty, broken charger was what caused a short circuit

that caused the initial flames.

From there the fire spread quickly through the room, trapping two of the women inside. The first to arrive at the residence were four municipal police officers and two national police officers who were only able to get one of the three elderly women out of the room.

It was impossible to rescue Lucía and Isabel.

Both ended up dying from smoke inhalation and burns.

The National Police is trying to verify this first hypothesis about a fortuitous origin of the flames. The Scientific Police teams moved to Aravac and were checking the room where the fire started.

Firefighters are also

trying to find out if the fire protection system worked at the residence.

In the case of senior centers where there are vulnerable people, there must be systems that detect fire in its early phase, automatic water sprinklers and smoke evacuation that clear corridors and escape routes. It must be remembered that nursing homes have the same consideration as hospitals, according to the Technical Building Code (CTE).

At the time of the fire in the residence, with capacity for 40 people, there were 38 elderly people. The Emergency112 service received notification of the fire shortly before 7:00 a.m. and the Municipal Police, City Hall Firefighters, National Police, Samur, Red Cross and Summa went to the scene of the event. The director of the Madrid City Council's Fire Department, Roberto Moreira, has confirmed that

the fire was confined to the room and that the smoke spread throughout the building

.

On the other hand, Samur's guard supervisor, Isabel Casado, explained that the Emergency teams performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the bodies of the seriously injured people until, in the case of two of them, the maneuvers were abandoned when their death was confirmed. .

According to sources from the Ministry of Health, of the 38 people who resided in the center, last night there was one resident in serious condition admitted to the La Paz Hospital. Of the rest of the residents, five people were transferred with their families and another 15

are in the Reina Sofía residence, in Las Rozas

. Yesterday afternoon, four elderly people who were discharged after being treated at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation were evacuated to this residence. Another 11 people were under observation in different hospitals and those who are cared for by their families will be transferred to the same residence in Las Rozas and to the Nuestra Señora del Carmen public residence, in Madrid, when they are discharged.

The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, who had planned to attend the first mascletà fired in the capital at 1:00 p.m., announced yesterday that he would not attend, as a sign of mourning for the tragedy. In a statement made at City Hall, a minute was saved and Almeida pointed out: "

Today Madrid has a day of mourning and it is up to the authorities to also accompany the families in their feelings

."