Firefighters Rescue Two Neighbors Trapped by Fire in Alicante

Risky rescue in Alicante in the dead of night. The Fire Prevention, Extinction, and Rescue Service (Speis) of the Alicante City Council saved two people on Wednesday who had taken refuge on the balcony of their home after becoming trapped due to a fire that broke out in a building on San Francisco Street.

The residents were treated for smoke inhalation, although the intervention of the fire service prevented more serious harm. The two affected individuals are a couple of foreign nationality in their 30s. Both were transported to Dr. Balmis General Hospital for a thorough check-up, according to municipal sources.

The firefighters' intervention took place around 11:00 PM, after the fire broke out in the building's electrical panel on this central street. Alerted by the fire, the occupants of an apartment located on the third floor attempted to leave unsuccessfully. Upon opening the door, due to the so-called 'chimney effect,' all the accumulated smoke in the stairwell rushed into their home.

At that moment, the two residents went out onto their balcony and crouched down to avoid the dense column of smoke generated by the burning main protection box, which had invaded the stairs and common areas of the building. While firefighters confined other residents in their homes within the block, a Speis team proceeded with an 'in extremis' rescue of the two people sheltered on the balcony.

A total of 14 municipal firefighters participated in the operation, spread across four vehicles, two of which were fire engines and a third was a ladder truck. The damage inside the apartment was caused by smoke, as the flames did not extend beyond the origin of the fire in the electrical panel.