Massive fire destroys dozens of vehicles on plot of land where they were being stored following 'Dana' disaster in Valencia

As explosions were heard at the site where hundreds of vehicles await being scrapped, residents living nearby were warned to keep the windows and doors of their homes firmly shut

Tamara Villena / Nacho Roca

Valencia

Tuesday, 17 December 2024, 11:37

Firefighters have extinguished a blaze that broke out at a massive car graveyard in Catarroja in Spain's eastern Valencia region. Flames and a column of smoke could be seen late on Monday 16 December at the makeshift storage yard where cars wrecked during the 'Dana' storm were being stored, waiting to be taken away and scrapped.

The dangerous situation initially forced local authorities to advise residents living nearby to keep the windows and doors of their homes firmly shut. The fire started in an interior point of the open area where hundreds of cars have been piled up since early November.

Firefighters focused on removing parts of the vehicles to create a firebreak as fire engulfed cars and caused them to explode. Firefighters' efforts prevented the flames from reaching the nearby Villa Carmen area, where families live.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Authorities first received an alert around 7.33pm, with a fire brigade from Catarroja and two others from Torrent first on the scene.

As soon as the fire was reported, Catarroja town hall advised the population to stay indoors as a precautionary measure, and to keep windows shut, especially in Villa Carmen and in the areas closest to Avenida Jaume I, Avenida Diputación and La Florida.

Controlled fire

"When we arrived there were around 30 cars burning," Catarroja mayor Lorena Silvent told the media. "The fire has been under control at all times, but due to the toxicity of the environment we have recommended to the nearest residents to stay in their homes with the windows closed."

Silvent said the wrecked car storage facility was being emptied progressively, although cars continued to be dropped off there as vehicles were removed from garages and still needed to be decontaminated.

Government delegate in Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, also went to the area of the incident together with councillor Juan Carlos Valderrama. The councillor said the total number of vehicles on fire was around 50, with seven teams of firefighters displaced to control the blaze.

Valderrama said the issue of the open area where hundreds of vehicles left unusable by the 'Dana' have accumulated "worries us a lot". "I have asked the Cecopi (the coordination centre between administrations) to hold an urgent meeting this Tuesday to guarantee the surveillance of both the vehicle camps and the removed goods," he told the media.

This is already the second site, with gathered debris left by the storm, that has ended up in flames after catching fire for apparent unknown reasons. At the weekend, there was a similar incident at a dump in Alberic with rubbish left by the 'Dana' catching fire and threatening homes in the San Cristóbal housing estate. Several homes were evacuated as a precaution.

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