Ibis hotel fire raises serious concerns about potential emergencies in Malaga city centre

The fire at the Ibis hotel has been burning for 22 days, with crews dealing with numerous flare-ups since the blaze first broke out.

The issue reached the city council's urban planning committee on Monday through motions by opposition groups and a statement from councillor for public safety Avelino Barrionuevo.

The opposition criticised the local ruling team over what they described as a lack of firefighting resources and questioned how a fire could continue for so long.

Both the PSOE and Con Málaga stated that the city now has fewer firefighters than it did in 2008 despite significant population growth and rising visitor numbers.

In response, Barrionuevo said that the strategy they have implemented following this incident aims to avoid endangering the lives of firefighters. He also announced the recruitment of more firefighters, bringing the total to 309.

Before councillors debated the issue, representatives from Malaga's old town residents' association and the Andalusian firefighters' union addressed the committee.

Carlos Carrera, president of the old town residents' association, warned that the historic centre faces a particularly high fire risk. He cited timber-framed buildings, grease accumulation in restaurant kitchens, the storage of alcohol, the concentration of nightlife venues and the close proximity of buildings as factors that could worsen any major blaze.

He also highlighted concerns about outdoor terraces occupying public space and whether emergency vehicles could manoeuvre effectively through narrow city-centre streets.

Referring to the Ibis fire, Carrera accused the city council of handling the situation negligently and warned that a future fire involving loss of life would leave the authorities facing difficult questions.

He also recalled the deadly nightclub fire in Murcia in 2023, after which Malaga city council announced a programme of inspections of nightlife venues. Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned the outcome of those inspections.

Pedro Pacheco from the Andalusian firefighters' union said that the fire, which started at Le Grand Café, had exposed long-standing shortages in staffing and equipment.

"They've fabricated a political narrative to cover up the reality. They claim that the fire was inevitable due to the building's structure. They're telling the public that any wooden building with a hospitality business underneath is doomed to burn down," he said.

Opposition groups used the debate to question both the handling of the Ibis fire and wider emergency preparedness in Malaga.

Representatives from PSOE and Con Málaga said that the city suffers from structural shortcomings in its firefighting service and said the council had failed to provide convincing explanations for why the incident has lasted so long.

They also raised concerns about nightlife venue inspections and the safety implications of a similar fire occurring elsewhere in the historic centre.

"There is no reasonable explanation from the governing team. We have structural deficiencies: the fire department has fewer personnel than in 2008. How can this be possible in a city of more than 600,000 inhabitants, with a clear saturation of tourism and leisure activities?" deputy spokesperson for Con Málaga Toni Morillas said.

The PSOE spokesperson was equally critical: "This fire is turning into something out of a TV series. Malaga deserves an answer. It's a building right in the city centre and it’s been burning for 22 days. It's not something you see in any other city (...) What would have happened if it had occurred in the city centre, with houses above it and terraces all around? We had a real warning with the nightclub in Murcia and we have no explanations, no results from the inspection. A responsible city doesn't wait. It learns from warnings."

Vox focused on the broader issue of emergency planning, stating that Malaga must ensure its emergency services expand in line with population growth and increasing economic activity.

"This debate is far more important than a specific discussion about this fire. Safety isn't improvised, it's planned," spokesperson Antonio Alcázar said.

Barrionuevo rejected claims that a lack of resources had prolonged the incident.

"This isn't about a lack of material and human resources. It is a matter of technical criteria. The fire has been under control since day one. Once the evacuation was complete, the commanders' primary concern was the safety of those involved," the councillor said.

According to him, the timber floors inside the structure continue to smoulder slowly, while the risk of collapse has prevented firefighters from attacking the fire directly from inside.

As a result, crews have had to fight the blaze largely from outside the building, a strategy that inevitably reduces effectiveness.

Barrionuevo also defended the procedures used to mobilise firefighters and said the city had consistently filled vacant positions. He announced that more than 40 recruits currently training at Malaga's municipal security academy will soon join the service, increasing the workforce to 309 firefighters, with around 60 available per shift.

The council has also begun inspecting a number of well-known nightlife venues, including Liceo, Justin's, Sala Gold, Andén, Coyote, Tennessee, París 15, Bluebird and Santa Rita.

Opposition councillors responded by arguing that even with the new recruits, the service will still have fewer firefighters than it did in 2008.

Access the latest 112 emergency and rescue news hub