One year after the tragic fire in Valencia: "We are looking forward to returning to the building"

ValenciaBetween the nightmares that revive a dramatic afternoon, the memory of the dead neighbours and the hope of being able to return to the building. This is the cocktail of emotions that accompanies the residents of the burned building in the Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia, one year after the fire that left 10 victims.

The accumulation of feelings that were experienced on that 22nd February will be revived this Saturday in the tribute and memory ceremony organised in the park adjacent to the building. Among those attending the event will be Javier Baldoví, Ángela Cárdenas, Àlex Chiva and Pepe Mas, four of the nearly 450 neighbours who, twelve months after the fire, are trying to rebuild their lives. One of those who is having the hardest time is Ángela, who, together with her husband, Pepe, was in her flat when the flames began to spread. "We dared the smoke and when we saw a large column we ran out on the stairs," she remembers. A year has passed since that moment, but the anguish has not vanished. "I have nightmares. A lot of them. I take pills every day, and not even then..." she emphasises. "You can't stop thinking about what could have happened. In our case, leaving our four daughters who, despite being adults, didn't deserve to lose their parents like that," she adds.

This Venezuelan by birth and Valencian by adoption needs psychological and psychiatric treatment. She is no exception. "Many of us suffer from post-traumatic stress, and most of us are receiving help," explains her husband, who is the spokesperson for Aproicam, the building's owners' association. "I dream about finding myself in places with smoke and when I'm awake and see smoke I get nervous," admits this retired nurse. Javier Baldoví and his partner also have trouble sleeping. The one who has digested it best is Àlex. He doesn't have nightmares, nor does he need psychological treatment. "I don't talk about it much because I see that there are people who are worse off. I have always had a mind to look to the future. The reaction of the institutions, the insurance company and the people gave me confidence that the matter will end well," he sums up.

The key to ending the suffering will be the return to the building. In January, the cleaning phase ended and a study is finalizing the construction project. The works, which will be financed with the insurance compensation, could be finished at the beginning of 2027. To replace the controversial ventilated facade and combustible material cladding A ceramic composite has been chosen, which is much more resistant to fire. Despite the shocking images of the flames surrounding the building, Àlex is not afraid. Neither is Javier, who stresses that it will be "one of the safest in Valencia". "The priority is to return and we are looking forward to it," he stresses.

But the wait will be long. Javier's family was one of those who moved to the building in the Safranar neighbourhood that was ceded by the Valencia City Council. They stayed for three months. After this period, they rented a flat in the Campanar neighbourhood. They needed to return to facilitate transport to school for their 2 and 5 year old children. Ángela and Pepe have made almost the same journey and have rented a house in the nearby neighbourhood of Benicalap. A little further east lives Àlex, in Pla del Real. They all explain that it has been difficult for them to find a flat despite having received aid from the Generalitat, now extended, as well as the moratorium on mortgages.

Also a victim of the DANA

Javier, who has also been a victim of the DANA, has suffered the most difficulties. "It has been a very bad year, it has not given us a break," he emphasizes. The businessman lost the trestles that he has located in a shopping center in the municipality of Alfafar and which remains closed. "We are waiting to replace the elevators," he explains. He has not yet received compensation for recovering from the damage, nor the aid from the administrations. His tax address is in Valencia, outside the affected area, which is delaying the procedures. He emphasizes that the only thing he has received is 8,000 euros that the owner of Mercadona, Juan Roig, has given him.

The judicial investigation is also moving slowly. The victims' relatives have asked that the Valencia fire chief, Enrique Chisbert, be charged. They accuse him of hiding the fact that the first escalator that went to the building did not work. They also question the fact that communications between firefighters were not recorded. Finally, they disagree with the eviction protocol. One element that could affect the trial is the destruction of evidence caused by the flooding that the judicial warehouse suffered on the day of the DANA. Specifically, the compressor motor of the refrigerator - where the flames are believed to have started - and some fragments of the façade.

Fire and water. Two elements that have changed the lives of tens of thousands of Valencians in the last year. "We cannot leave behind what we have experienced, because I knew a family that died in the fire. We can only learn to live with a memory that we know will always be with us," Pepe concludes resignedly.