The community of owners of the building that burned down in the Campanar neighborhood, located at number 2 on Poeta Rafael Alberti Street, have filed a complaint in the Investigative Court number 9 of Valencia for an alleged crime of damages due to serious recklessness regarding the possible negligence on the part of the construction agents of the property, which was devastated by flames on February 22, leaving ten fatalities and hundreds of people homeless.
In addition, they have appeared as an injured party, as a private prosecutor, and they ask the court to reopen the previous proceedings, which were provisionally archived at the time as the fire did not have a criminal origin, according to the Scientific Police report.
As reported by the community of owners in a statement, the owners of the affected apartments, through their president Francisco Fernández, and under the legal direction of the lawyer Guillermo Aragó Hervás, of the Valencian firm Togas
“We must clarify responsibilities for the devastating fire that practically destroyed the entire building, resulting in fatalities,” said the owners, who also refer to the “extensive damage that has been caused to the property.”
The complaint specifies that “not only will it be necessary to find out how the fire occurred, but it will also be necessary to investigate the causes why the fire spread so quickly and caused the destruction of practically the entire building.”
The neighbors consider that “the fact that the fire spread quickly from the outside of the building to the inside and that in a few minutes it devastated the building is not questionable.” “Apparently, the facade contributed to this spread and this fact is not normal at all,” they say in the complaint.
The lawyer representing the community considers that in this type of crimes “the prescription on the possible liability of the building agents does not begin until the actual damage occurs.”
Therefore, the complaint filed requests the investigation and verification of whether the building was built in violation of the provisions of Royal Decree 2177/1996, of October 4, which approves the fire protection conditions of buildings, if there was possible negligence or imprudence committed by the installation of the façade cladding by the building agents who intervened in the construction of the property, or also if the manufacturer of the plates that covered the exterior of the building could be liable for negligence. the facade.
It is necessary to “investigate whether any of the building agents who participated in the construction of the building could be responsible for negligence or recklessness regarding the fact that the fire spread so quickly and caused more damage than, perhaps, would have been caused.” caused without the commission of that recklessness”.
Furthermore, the complaint urges the Court to “issue a letter to the Valencia City Council in order for them to send the entire file that gave rise to the granting of the major works license for the construction of the building” in order to know what were the building agents, what construction standards were applied and what materials were used in the construction.
