One firefighter dead in Paüls wildfire, in southern Catalonia

One firefighter has passed away while extinguishing the wildfire in Paüls, in southern Catalonia, on Thursday afternoon.

The agent fell while working on the scene at 2:17pm. He was sat down on a large rock that broke and pushed him towards a more than 20-meter fall, as head of intervention Joan Rovira explained to media outlets at 8:00pm on Thursday.

"All worries related to the fire are now less important," he said as the fire brigade is mourning the loss of their colleague, Antonio Serrano, a 46-year-old firefighter from Granollers' fire station, just north of Barcelona.

Serrano was sitting down while waiting the arrival of water to extinguish a small smoke emerging from a tree, when the accident occurred.

He was a member of the 'Active Prevention Team' EPAF of the Catalan firefighters in charge of getting rid of vegetation, prepare areas to help extinguish the fire, and look for burned areas to cold them down.

The causes on why the firefighter fell are still under investigation, as a statement shared by the Catalan firefighters brigade reads.

He was assisted by members of the brigade, and the medical emergency services arrived on site with a medicalized helicopter. The firefighter was severely injured before arriving at the Verge de la Cinta hospital in Tortosa, where he passed away.

The wildfire in Paüls, southern Catalonia, broke out on Monday at midday and has burned down over 3,300 hectares since then. Officials announced on Wednesday evening that they were confident they could control the flames on Thursday, after surrounding the fire on Wednesday at midday.

During the week, the flames forced a lockdown and a stay-at-home order in several municipalities near the Ports Natural Park, such as Paüls, Aldover, Xerta, and some areas of Tortosa. After days of seeing the flames getting closer to their houses, residents of the Baix Ebre county experienced some relief on Wednesday afternoon when the wildfire was declared stabilized.

The Catalan president, Salvador Illa, expressed its condolences for his death "while on duty." "All my support and the government's in the enormous task firefighters are doing," he added.

A similar message written by interior minister Núria Parlon who expressed her condolences to family and friends. She traveled to Tortosa to show her support to family members on site. 

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez also wrote on social media X to show his grief and to give support to family and colleagues. 

Two farmers dead in western Catalonia

This is the third person killed due to wildfires in Catalonia in July, after two farmers passed away during a wildfire in the Segarra area, in western Catalonia.

The blaze burned down 6,000 hectares and was considered the first sixth-generation fire ever recorded in the territory.

To learn more about Catalonia’s wildfire strategy, the history of its firefighters, and how they prepare to tackle fires, listen to the podcast below.