Firefighters Report that Forced Home Entries in Spain’s Madrid Have Tripled Since Coronavirus Crisis

SOURCES from the firefighter’s department in Madrid assure that they have been carrying out between 15-20 forced entries into households every day since the State of Alarm was enforced as a result of the coronavirus.

Firefighters in Madrid have tripled the number of home interventions due to death or severe illnesses of residents. When comparing 10 days in March 2019, with 10 days in March 2020 the discrepancies are notable. In this period of time last year firefighters had to forcibly enter houses 75 times, a small number compared to the 186 this year. There is no questioning the reason for this spike: the coronavirus.

This trend in data is not exclusive to the capital city. Sources and spokespeople from other firefighter stations in different communities have assured that they have also witnessed a spike in the number of forced entries to rescue or remove a body from the premises.

“There are many people, especially elderly people, who live alone. There are some days that we have to do 18 forced entries, other days 22. Before, people used to call because elderly people would fall and have nobody to attended to them, now these forced entries have become sadder. In a large number of these cases we go into the house to find the individuals deceased,” indicates one of the firefighters contacted by El Confidencial.

This situation constantly repeats itself; the firefighters will receive a call from a family member who is worried about an individual not responding to the phone. From there, they trigger an intervention protocol which requires the presence of police, firefighters and medical staff.

Written by

Laura Kemp

Originally from UK, Laura is based in Axarquia and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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