Valencia is reeling from a fatal fire at an apartment complex in the Spanish city. The incident began on the night of Thursday, February 22nd, and though the cause has not been definitively established, early reporting has suggested that the building’s cladding may have played a part in the disaster.

Ten people have been confirmed to have been killed in the fire, whose identities match the list of ten people deemed missing by authorities. In an isolated moment of relief, four people who had been included on the preceding list of 14 missing people have been located alive.

As per Spanish outlet El Pais, the vice-president of the Valencia College of Industrial and Technical Engineers, Esther Puchades, suggested that the building’s cladding included polyurethane and when “heated it is like plastic and it ignites.” In response, IPUR, Spain’s polyurethane manufacturers’ association, issued a statement saying there was no evidence that polyurethane was used in the subject building.

The suggestion that the building’s cladding may have played a role in the Valencia fire is nonetheless reminiscent of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017, when 72 people were killed. A BBC investigation alleged that insulation used in the refurbishment of the tower never passed a fire safety test and was unfit for use.

In March 2022, Archinect published a feature article titled ‘America’s Public Housing is Burning, Fueled by Cold Indifference,’ where we reflected on a series of building fires in the Bronx and Philadelphia that claimed 29 lives. In addition, 61 people have died in 42 fires in Chicago buildings over the past eight years where city officials were aware of fire safety problems, as per an investigation by the Better Government Association and the Chicago Tribune.

Our 2022 feature posits that the AEC industry and its funders must return to elemental questions of how we procure, fund, design, build, and maintain our built environment. Meanwhile, our 2021 feature article in the aftermath of the fatal collapse of the Champlain Towers South collapse posited the following:

“A core aspect of architectural education and licensing is to create environments centered on humanity, manifested in structures where safety, resilience, and diligence are placed on a pedestal. In reality, however, the construction, maintenance, oversight, and overall attitude to the built environment can be more akin to a House of Cards.”