Two people have died in a restaurant after a waiter flambeed a dish, accidentally setting alight plastic plants that were hanging on the walls and ceiling.
irefighters called to the Burro Canaglia restaurant in central Madrid found a wall of flames blocking the entrance. Two people, reportedly including one member of the restaurant’s staff, were found dead and eight people were taken to hospital after inhaling smoke. The fire started near the door, meaning many people were trapped inside as the decorations quickly caught light.
“It appears the fire started when a flambeed pizza was being served, which set fire to the decorations in the restaurant,” Jose Luis Martinez-Almeid, the mayor of Madrid, told Spain’s state television TVE. He said the death toll could have been higher but for the rapid response of firefighters who were stationed only 100 yards away.
Burro Canaglia, a chain of Italian restaurants, introduced the pizza “inferno” to its menu a year ago.
“We rescued 12 people who were trapped inside because the restaurant only had the one exit,” said Carlos Marin, a firefighter. “Some people managed to hide in the kitchen, crouch down low and wait, but the conditions were awful for everyone inside,” he added.
According to local media reports, the two dead were a female customer and a 25-year-old male member of the restaurant staff. The woman is reported to have been a 43-year-old nurse from Bilbao who was visiting Madrid for a few days. Several of those treated for smoke inhalation and burns remain in serious conditions at various hospitals.
Witnesses said some diners ran through the fire that had engulfed the exit as the flaming decorations drooped, with some suffering burns in the process.
Others said that a group of people had tried to smash a window with a terrace sunshade in a frustrated attempt to open up a safer escape route.
“Artificial plants are usually made of plastic or other flammable materials.
The fire spreads at full speed and the problem is not just that the ceiling is on fire, but that the plastic melts and falls to the ground, as if it were raining,” one firefighter said. Madrid’s rules for restaurant decoration say that combustible materials must be “non-flammable”.
In a statement, Burro Canaglia offered “sincere condolences to the families affected”.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2023]