Man who jumped out of window to escape flames in Vizcaya flat fire dies

The man who jumped out of a window last Thursday to escape the flames in the fire in a flat in Baracaldo in the north of Spain has died. Sources close to the case, told this newspaper that the victim was 38 years old and died in Cruces hospital, hours after being rushed there in a serious condition. Residents of the building and the local area said they had been suffering for decades from numerous problems with this person, who was the only person registered in the property affected by the fire.

The fire broke out in the victim's flat in Calle El Carmen at six o'clock in the morning and it was completely destroyed. As confirmed by a close relative, the deceased had an "extensive criminal record - mainly for robberies, threats, fights and crimes against property".

Three other men aged 46, 48 and 60, the first of North African origin and the other two of Spanish nationality were also injured in the blaze, the first two from smoke inhalation and the third from burns. Neighbours told reporters that incidents in the flat gutted by the fire were frequent and that "the police came every now and then".

The three units that make up this block of flats, which also houses the Osakidetza mental health centre for children and adolescents, were built by the Basque Government some two decades ago on the site of the former Guardia Civil barracks, to rehouse those who lived in old buildings that were demolished in El Carmen, in an area closer to the estuary and the Rontegi bridge.

A married couple, now deceased, and their son, G. G., moved into the property where the fire broke out, but they were not the only occupants of the house. There were more people and their behaviour caused a lot of concern for the neighbours of the property affected by the fire. The fire caused a huge commotion, but the residents of the area were not surprised. Naiara Pérez said she was fed up, as the people in the flat were linked, she said, to "drugs, prostitution, assaults, delinquency.... They go out to steal at night. They dismantle the things they steal and sell them for scrap. That's their daily job", the woman claimed.