The priority is to confirm how the fire started – a short circuit in the mechanism of an awning is pointed out – and determine the causes that caused its rapid evolution, something that will take more time. But the municipal and regional authorities plan to review the housing stock of Valencia to first locate and later inspect, if necessary, those in which the sandwich panel system has been used in the cladding of their facades.
The mayor of Valencia confirmed this when asked if they have studied how many buildings could be similar to the one that burned. Catalá has shown her willingness “to create a work team with the College of Architects to address these issues.” Despite this, she has pointed out that “reflection has to be done on a much broader level.” She considers that this incident will be a turning point in the field of construction, and that the state, regional and local administrations are going to “have to reflect” on construction materials.
In this regard, the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, assured that “the most important thing is to establish the source of the fire.” When there is verified data, and in collaboration with the professional associations and even with the central Government – which “has already been offered” -, the Housing area of ??the Generalitat Valenciana will work on the elimination of any element that is necessary to that “this will not be repeated again.” “We are not going to skimp on coordination, studies or measures, but there are still details that unfortunately we do not know,” Mazón stressed.
As a preventive measure, in Alicante a review of the materials placed on the facades of the 135 tallest buildings in the city has begun. A technical team from the Fire Prevention and Extinction Service, made up of six firefighters with technical qualifications in architecture and industrial engineering, has begun this task, which complements that of the team created three years ago to review the fire protection facilities of these properties. .
The Councilor for Citizen Security, Julio Calero, explained that “after the dramatic fire in Valencia that cost the lives of 10 people and the role that the materials placed on the façade played in the rapid spread of the fire, a group has been created specific within the team that evaluates the High-Rise Buildings (EGA) of Alicante to check the materials of the facades of the 135 tallest buildings in the city and establish a risk classification.”
Calero has highlighted that “in Alicante a specific team has been working on these issues for three years in charge of periodically reviewing the fire protection installations (dry column for the safe supply of water on all floors, fire exits, indicators , fire extinguishers, situation of the electrical panels,…) and that after verifying what happened in Valencia, it has been reinforced with a specific technical team to carry out a quick review and cataloging of possible buildings that may present coating problems on facades.
The authorized work group is made up of four firefighters and two corporals with technical qualifications in architecture and industrial engineering.
The list managed by the SPEIS team reaches a total of 135 buildings with more than ten heights. Supervision tasks have begun in places that may have worse access conditions, such as the traditional center, to then focus on neighborhoods with more accessible environments. This morning 90 of the 135 properties were inspected.
To carry out this supervision, the specialists are taking especially into account the current building regulations and especially the construction period of the buildings, given the evolution of the regulations from 2005 to 2019, when the last review was carried out. This issue is important given that the materials used in the facades have also been subjected to greater demands in the latest revisions of the regulations.
The review of the facades begins with a visual inspection and if it is considered necessary, the appropriate checks of the materials are carried out with the necessary height equipment, following current regulations and those issues that may be considered technically necessary.
