Constanza Sánchez
On Thursday, February 20 in the afternoon, a house located on one of the busiest streets in the historic center of Alcalá de Henares was engulfed in flames, causing alarm among neighbors and passersby.
Kike, the owner of a nearby hardware store, was a witness to the incident. «Black smoke started coming out of the window, we neighbors started coming out with hoses and managed to put it out as best as we could,» he tells us.
Fortunately, the quick response of several fire brigades allowed them to extinguish the fire before it spread to other buildings. However, the house, which was an old construction with wooden beams, suffered considerable damage.
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Residents express their concern about the property, which had been occupied several times. «There have been squatters several times. It’s not the first time they have squatted and they have been evicted, but they end up getting back in. The last time, apparently, there were two girls,» says a neighbor.
According to her testimony, the building’s door was broken and secured with a chain, clearly indicating that there were people inside. This incident is not isolated; residents in the area had previously lodged complaints about the issues with the uninhabited property for years.
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«Last week, the Police came to evict because there were a couple of squatters; they broke down the door. Supposedly, the house has been sold to build a new building. It wasn’t a house fit for living, I can tell you that,» adds another neighbor.
In response to the repeated occupation incidents, the City Council has placed a metal sheet on the building’s door to prevent future squatting attempts. Residents hope these measures will help maintain safety and stability in the neighborhood.
