A firefighter dies after falling down a ravine during the Paüls fire.

BarcelonaAn auxiliary firefighter died this Thursday after falling down a 20-meter ravine while working in extinguishing the fire that has been burning since Monday afternoon in Paüls. This is a member of the Active Prevention Team (EPAF) of the Granollers fire station, an auxiliary unit in charge of preparing the ground. The man was working with hand tools to consolidate the perimeter in a steep area on the right flank of the fire—between Paüls and Alfara de Carles—when he fell down the ravine.

According to fire inspector Joan Rovira, the cause of the accident was the fall of a large rock that dragged the man—whose name was Antonio Serrano, was 46 years old and had a son—to a cliff more than 20 meters high. The technician was sitting waiting for a water line to reach the area.

The accident occurred at 2:17 p.m. The colleagues who were with him immediately intervened with initial assistance while the rescue team was activated. A helicopter with a joint GRAE Mountain rescue team and a doctor from the Medical Emergency System (SEM), as well as a medical helicopter from the SEM, were dispatched to the scene of the accident. The latter transported the firefighter to the Virgen de la Cinta Hospital in Tortosa, where he ultimately died.

The General Directorate of Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue (DGPEIS) has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances and causes of the events. It also expressed its condolences to the victim's family and expressed its support for the colleagues who were working with him on this service. EPAF technicians are employed by the Forestry Action Group (GRAF) during fires and are responsible for clearing vegetation, preparing areas for extinguishing fires, and working the burned soil to cool it.

"I deeply regret the death of a firefighter in the line of duty while working to extinguish the fire in Paüls in the Baix Ebre," said the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, in a message to X. The head of the executive has sent his heartfelt condolences to the bodies of the Bomba "task" they do. The Generalitat has also decreed a day of mourning in Catalonia.

For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, said she was "dismayed" by the death, while the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, who highlighted on the same social network his "recognition of the enormous work carried out by firefighters and emergency services in the fight against fires."

Fire situation

The accident involving this forestry assistant comes at the end of a fire that firefighters continue to work on and hope to bring under control in the coming hours. The rain that has fallen in the area throughout the night has contributed to soaking the ground. "In the afternoon, we will begin to assess whether we consider the fire under control," Firefighters' chief of intervention, Mar Gil, announced in a press conference this morning. The flames have scorched approximately 3,300 hectares, of which 1,125 are in the Els Ports Natural Park. The Paüls fire is the second major fire recorded in Catalonia this summer. after the one in Segarra, in which two people died.