The stories of the firefighters who participated in extinguishing the fire of a building in Valencia yesterday conveyed the psychological hardship that it meant for them to go in to rescue people and put out the flames. “Right now everything is anguish, we need help, each and every other. Those who entered are very shocked,” experienced firefighters who participated in the extinguishing tasks explained to this newspaper yesterday.
The authorities and neighbors were congratulated yesterday on the courage of the agents, who saw the cranes go up and down without rest, run and even jump from a burning balcony. Inside, everything was more difficult, their faces reflected it after leaving the stage. The neighbors who saw them perform did not hesitate to describe them as “heroes” for their dedication and vocation for service. They were the ones who rescued two people from a balcony when the flames were in full swing, they were the ones who entered the fire looking for people to save.
Yesterday they supported each other, “because you have to let it go, talk about what’s happening to you,” they said. Faustino Yanguas, spokesperson for the SPPLB Firefighters Union, highlighted the work of the group: “In 20 minutes there were 100 firefighters in the parks ready to help, in addition to all those who had guard duty.” Even the new recruits showed up to help. Then the virulence of the fire, and the speed, surprised everyone. They did not expect such a catastrophe.
The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, and the mayor of València, María José Catalá, visited at night the two firefighters who remain hospitalized due to the Campanar fire to thank them for their work and convey to them “real affection” and “support social” for his heroic work.
Mazón and Catalá went to the La Fe hospital, first, and to Doctor Peset, later, to visit both professionals, the only injured of the fifteen – seven of them, firefighters – after this Thursday’s fire who remain hospitalized, without their lives are in danger.
In statements to the Valencian public television À Punt, Mazón said upon leaving La Fe that he has been able to chat with José, who has “his hands burned” during the rescue efforts of some of the neighbors who had been trapped by the flames that They devastated the fourteen-story building and later burned the adjacent block, causing nine deaths.
The president, visibly moved, has praised his work because he managed to rescue several people from the burning building, although due to his injuries he was unable to do so with others, and in fact he still did not know what had happened after his evacuation.
Mazón has conveyed “social, not institutional support” because the people, the neighborhood, are offering the victims what they have – “those who have a supermarket, those who have blankets, those who have love…”, has said -, for which he has shown “real affection, not protocol” with his visit.
