A mobile phone left charging on a sofa on the ground floor of the house became the cause of the fire that took the lives of four members of a family in Guillena, Seville, last Sunday. After examining the interior, the Civil Guard’s fire investigations unit concluded that the incident started with the explosion and burning of the battery in a mobile device.
Fire investigators arrived on Monday after the blaze had cooled. They spent the day collecting samples until they confirmed that the origin lay in the explosion and combustion of the device’s battery.
The fire claimed the lives of a couple and their two children, aged 16 and 21. It was a sad day for the town, the mayor of the Aljarafe municipality, Lorenzo Medina, said hours after the tragedy, expressing consternation and a lack of answers in this case.
“They were a well-known family in the village”, said a shocked neighbor to El Correo de Andalucía on Sunday. They were from Torre de la Reina, a hamlet belonging to Guillena that locals refer to as “the Tower.” The father owned a fruit shop, where the mother, aged 51, also worked.
It all happened very fast
The tragedy unfolded in a matter of minutes: within about 15 minutes the flames engulfed the interior and the family was trapped. The mayor confirmed that the iron bars at the house were an obstacle that prevented their escape.
The family was found on the second floor, on a staircase leading to the rooftop terrace, which they could not reach in time to save their lives, according to the mayor, who spoke to reporters on Monday morning, visibly affected by the tragedy.