Last Friday night there was a fateful fire in the restaurant ‘Burro Canaglia Bar
The rapid intervention of the firefighters contributed to the fact that there were no more deaths. However, many unknowns remain open about what happened and there are still 8 people admitted to different Madrid hospitals. Two with serious prognosis.
The reason for the fire was a pizza that was served at a table with a torch. The rapid spread of the flames, as there was a lot of artificial vegetation on the roof, made it difficult for customers and workers to get out. There was no emergency exit on the premises.
Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services and the 12 fire brigade units that came to put it out, there were no more deaths. Two people died, Jay Robles, a young 25-year-old waiter, who came from Benidorm (Alicante), but who was looking for a life in Madrid with different jobs; and Alexandra Velasco, a 42-year-old operating room nurse from Getxo (Vizcaya), who was spending a few days in the capital doing tourism. In addition, there were 10 injured, who were transferred to different public hospitals in the Community of Madrid.
The restaurant that burned belongs to the Andalusian chain The Clandestine Hub, which operates the brand of Italian restaurants Burro Canaglia. It opened its first location in Madrid on December 30, 2021, precisely in the restaurant where the fateful fire broke out this weekend. It was a place with capacity for a hundred diners, of which 40 are located on a large outdoor terrace. It was open every day without interruption from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., extending its closing hours to 2:00 a.m. on weekends.
The debate and research is focused on the license of the premises and its decoration. Apparently, the restaurant did have a license to operate with its own kitchen. Now, the focus of research is on decoration. It may be that it was not a fireproof material because it burned in minutes. The National Police went to the restaurant this Monday to continue collecting information. And the investigating court number 46 has opened an investigation, since two corpses had to be raised.
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis MartÃnez-Almeida, assured that without the rapid intervention of the firefighters, who have headquarters in the same square, the disaster would have been much greater. In his opinion, the causes of the fire are still unknown exactly, but the origin of the fire could have been caused by “a flambéed pizza” that could have caught fire on the decoration of the premises.
The debate now focuses on investigating whether the Burro Canaglia restaurant had all the licenses. Almeida explained that he did have licenses to operate as a restaurant. The question is whether the decoration “adjusted to the requirements of the license and the regulatory requirements of the Madrid City Council in terms of fireproof materials that may be in the field of decoration and ornamentation”, Almeida has abounded.
The deceased are a 25-year-old waiter and a 42-year-old Basque nurse. Joy Robles had only been working in the aforementioned restaurant as a waiter for a week. Her father, Julián, stated on Monday morning – on various televisions – that he is considering filing a lawsuit, together with the rest of those affected, for the negligence in the decoration of the restaurant, which caused the fire. He recalled that Joy was passionate about music and had even written a video clip alluding to fire. More than 70 friends from the world of music attended her farewell.
For her part, nurse Alexandra was honored this Monday by many colleagues at the emergency entrance of the IMQ Zorrotzaurre clinic in Bilbao, where she worked. The management of the center has said that she “was the perpetual smile, a good companion and a worker.” She had gone to Madrid with some friends to spend a few days sightseeing and found the fatal outcome.
