‘No crime’ verdict over Valencia apartment block fire that killed 10 people

A VALENCIA court says no criminal act took place regarding the city apartment block fire in February 2024 that killed 10 people.

The blaze in the Campanar district was deemed to have started by accident due to a gas leak associated with a fridge in an eight-floor kitchen.

A 23-page report from the investigating judge said that cladding material used for the building’s facade was ‘in accordance with the law’.

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It added there was no indication of any negligence from private and municipal technicians as well as suppliers or manufacturers.

“There has not even been a flicker of the existence of a crime or any alleged perpetrator,” the judge stated.

The report also says that all the correct procedures were used by the fire service to extinguish the blaze, ‘adapting to the reality of the situation’.

It states: “The unfortunate events which caused so much grief in the heart of Valencian society, have been classified as accidental, exempt from human action and due to an accident to which a crime cannot be attributed.”

The same court- just two weeks after the fire- had initially decided there was no criminality.

That brought complaints from residents that a conclusion had been reached too quickly without thoroughly examining all the evidence.

A fresh investigation was then launched in the wake of the criticism.

Renovation work on the Campanar block is expected to start at the end of July, with displaced residents possibly returning towards the end of 2026.