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How did the Murcia nightclub fire start?

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A video posted online may provide the key to how the tragic blaze began

How did the Murcia nightclub fire start?

Investigations are still ongoing as to the exact events of the morning of Sunday October 1 when the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs in Murcia city caught fire, killing 13 people.

The fire started between 5.50am and 6am and it is estimated that there were about 150 people inside the premises at the time.

Both clubs are in the same premises as they were originally one single property. Early indications suggest that the fire originated in the Teatre nightclub and then spread to the Fonda.

A series of videos have emerged online of ‘cold fire cannons’ being used in the clubs, reportedly from that night. These types of sparklers release a shower of sparks that may have affected the electrical wiring.

Fiestas con bengalas, sin licencia, Fonda Milagros. 🤐

pic.twitter.com/Va50gMFwkV
— Jubi (@jubilao) October 2, 2023

Francisco Adán, the lawyer for the Fonda Milagros, has stated, “It so happens that these cannons are produced in an area where the first flames were produced.”

However, he insisted that it was time “to let the specialists and the police work” as they are the ones who “are going to tell us where the fire originated”.

The fire seems to have shot through the air vents and spread to the Fonda, shooting out like a flamethrower.

At the same time, all the lights went out as the electrics were destroyed and the clubs were plunged into darkness.

Juan Esteban Ramirez, the owner of the Fonda, said, “The fire was coming with such force that the normal light was switched off and the emergency light was put on, which only lasted forty seconds.”

He went on: “We were completely in the dark in the discotheque, that’s why most of the missing and deceased didn't make it out (...) I started to evacuate the people, following the evacuation protocol that we are required to follow. What happened is that it was very fast.”

Ramírez explained that, once the fire was detected, he began “to evacuate the people, the music was cut and the people who panicked were helped to get out, because a large percentage of people react very badly to a tragedy like this.”

“When the lights went out, I was at the bottom (of the two-storey establishment) and obviously I knew the club almost by heart, so I managed to get out, but if I stayed 30 seconds longer it was almost impossible to get out because it was completely dark.”

Those who were trapped inside left heartbreaking final messages to their loved ones, including the young lady who sent a voice message to her mother saying, “Mami, I love you, we are going to die.”

This is the worst and deadliest nightclub fire in Spain in 33 years, and tributes have poured in from around the country, with Regional authorities in Murcia holding a minute’s silence and flying flags at half-mast.

Murcia city authorities allege that the Teatre had been operating without a licence for a year and a half, but the owners of both clubs insist that all their paperwork was in order.

Image: Bomberos Murcia

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