Two dead and six seriously injured
Two people died Friday night and ten others were injured, six of them seriously and four slightly, in a fire in a restaurant in the square in the center of the capital of Spain, as reported to Europa Press sources of Emergencias Madrid. Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
Italian restaurant
The fire originated shortly after 23.00 hours in the Italian ‘Burro Canaglia Bar and Resto’, located at number 16 of the aforementioned square. The flames started near the entrance of the premises, which made it difficult to evacuate the victims.
The flames spread rapidly
The causes of the fire (possiblement a plate with flames) are being investigated, but the flames spread quickly through the roof and walls of the establishment. About ten ambulances and medical personnel from Samur-Protección Civil, Summa-112, Madrid Municipal Police and National Police were on the scene.
Speed of firefighters
Twelve firefighters from the Madrid City Council, who arrived with some speed from the park located in Rufino Blanco Street, rescued twelve people, customers and workers of the restaurant, and extinguished the fire, whose flames had spread outside the establishment, leaving a large amount of smoke in the street.
At the bottom of the local
On arrival they found that people had moved to the back of the premises due to the proximity of the flames to the outer door, so they were «completely trapped», as explained by the Chief on duty of Firefighters Madrid, Carlos Marin. «Fortunately the speed of the firefighters’ action has meant that those people who were trapped inside inhaling smoke have been rescued fairly quickly.»
A lot of smoke
After the rescue, the work of the firefighters was to ensure that there was no smoke in the nearby blocks of apartments and to notify and coordinate all the services. The six seriously injured were taken to hospitals in Madrid.
Rogue Butter
The Andalusian chain The Clandestine Hub, which operates the Italian restaurant brand Burro Canaglia, opened the doors to the public of what was its first location in Madrid on December 30, 2021, at number 16 of Plaza Manuel Becerra, located in the Salamanca district.
Room for one hundred people
It is a place with capacity for a hundred diners, of which 40 are located on a large outdoor terrace. It opens every day without interruption from 13:00 to 01:00 hours, extending the closing time to 02:00 on weekends.
National Police
The DEVI of the Scientific Police of the National Police is in charge of the technical-police inspection of the restaurant…
The mayor of Madrid has approached
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, assured that «if the firefighters had taken five minutes more» to reach the burned restaurant, the number of victims would have been «higher» due to the conditions of the fire and the fumes emanating from it.
The danger of smoke
Martínez-Almeida confirmed that the fire was not complicated to extinguish despite reaching an intensity that firefighters «qualify as extremely high», which generated «very numerous fumes». In addition, he indicated that «it was very difficult to get out of the premises». In fact, he explained that the two people who died «were the ones who were at a table closest to the access to the premises».
No emergency exit
In this line, the mayor pointed out that there was no emergency exit in the premises, since from the point of view of the regulations «is not necessary» for the size of the restaurant and the number of diners that is authorized. At the time of the incident, there were 30 people in the premises, including diners and workers.
Possible origin in a flamed pizza
The causes of the fire, pending official confirmation, «could be due to a pizza flambé that could have ignited on the decoration of the premises,» said Martínez-Almeida.
