The leading hypothesis in the death of art history professor Enrique Valdivieso and his wife, Carmen Martínez, is that an overheated power strip sparked an electrical fire. The couple died in the early hours, while they slept in their Seville home on Mateo Gago Street. And while the room’s oxygen depletion might have prevented the flames from spreading, the space was filled with carbon monoxide, whose inhalation killed the couple.
The incident has shocked Sevillian society: although the professor was born in Valladolid, he lived in the capital of Seville, where he built most of his career. He was considered “one more Sevillano.” The circumstances of the death are unsettling: early police inquiries point to a malfunctioning electrical device that triggered the tragedy, namely a mobile phone charger.
To date, most carbon monoxide deaths in the country, the so‑called sweet death because they present no prior symptoms, occurred either from brazier devices or from malfunctioning gas heaters. That an electrical device could release carbon monoxide in such a way is not common. Or is it?
Fraud
“Not long ago I saw a similar case in a bunk bed scenario: a boy left a mobile charger running overnight and started a fire,” a representative of APIEM, the Professional Association of Electrical and Telecommunications Installers in Madrid, notes. APIEM is the oldest association of electrical installers in Spain, founded in 1922.
A representative from APIEM explains that several factors may be at play: first, the device itself. Often, to save money, people buy cheap chargers from bazaars or online shops. They may appear compliant with European standards, but many do not actually comply and can cause a fire.
In this regard, APIEM suggests paying attention: when buying, look for the CE marks on devices approved for sale in the European Union. Some devices carry them, but if the marks are placed very close together, they are often fake. The CE marks must be spaced apart. If they are not, whether the device is a power strip, a phone charger, or any other electrical item, it is likely a counterfeit that evades the rules. Frauds like these can lead to disasters as seen in the Valdivieso case.
“If a mobile charger of this kind is left running overnight, it overheats and can trigger a fire,” the representative sums up. A fire can burn the home or release a deadly amount of carbon monoxide. “I say overnight because residents are probably asleep and unable to react in time,” the expert explains. “All of this, combined with winter and closed windows, makes carbon monoxide accumulate more quickly and sometimes lethally.”
Nylon Cable
Another clue could lie in the home’s electrical installation. Valdivieso and his wife resided in a historic Seville house: “When buildings are 50 or 60 years old, they likely have an old installation with rigid nylon cable. That is outdated and prohibited and can lead to accidents,” the expert notes.
For this reason, APIEM has been pushing for checks of internal electrical installations in homes, in the same way gas installations are inspected. There are more electrical devices in homes, and many buildings have completely outdated systems that can provoke this kind of accident.
What happens with these domestic infrastructures? The person responsible for the internal installation is the owner and must cover the costs. Renovating is expensive and the work is often postponed as long as the system keeps functioning. In Madrid, for instance, subsidies have been secured for replacing gas boilers. But electrical installations have not seen similar support, even though most of the devices in homes are electric.
The investigation continues. Witnesses describe a large amount of smoke in the home, but no flames. Additionally, close sources to the deceased have confirmed that the couple did not have a brazier, so the main theory points to a malfunctioning electrical device.