The General Directorate of Territorial Planning of the Generalitat has proposed the constitution of a working group to evaluate whether there are buildings in Catalonia that have used polyurethane as insulation, which could have caused the rapid expansion of the fire in the property that burned in Valencia. .
Sources from the Department of Territori have explained to EFE that professional associations such as Architects or Technical Building Architects will participate in this working group, in a concern for inspection that El Confidencial reported today.
At the same time, “it will also consider the contributions and knowledge of other necessary organizations, as well as representatives of the local world, since the subject of urban planning discipline is municipal responsibility.”
“The objective of the working group will be to define the relevant actions and measures regarding possible buildings at risk due to this pathology in Catalonia,” add the same sources.
The Generalitat is not aware of any property in Catalonia that has used polyurethane as insulation and points out that since 2006 “the technical code requires communicating both the inventory of materials and the documentation of construction projects to professional associations.” , so the regional administration does not directly have this information.
It has confirmed that this material has not been used in the approximately 18,200 properties it manages in the public housing stock in Catalonia, as the same sources have told EFE.
The Valencia fire has claimed the lives of at least nine people and its origin remains to be determined, although speculation has focused on the reasons why the fire spread so quickly through the building that, according to technicians, complied with the regulations in force in 2008, the year of its construction.
Specifically, the presence or absence of polyurethane as insulation and the cladding in the form of a ventilated façade could have contributed, according to several experts, to the speed with which the entire building burned.
