Two children, aged 10 and 15, died early this morning in an apartment fire in Arroyo de la Miel, a district of Benalmádena (Málaga). Their mother was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, information from the 112 Andalucía emergency service. The incident shocked the local community and prompted a large emergency response.
The fire broke out around 5:40 a.m. in a four-story residential building on Calle Ónix, near the A-7 motorway and the Tívoli amusement park. Emergency teams responded, including health services from 061, firefighters from Benalmádena, Mijas and Fuengirola, and National and Local Police units. Large parts of the building were evacuated, and rescue teams assisted several residents.
Despite the rapid response, the deaths of the two children were confirmed at the scene. Their bodies are being transferred to the Málaga Institute of Legal Medicine for autopsy. Their mother was taken to hospital in critical condition. One firefighter was injured during the operation, while several police officers and firefighters needed medical attention for smoke inhalation.
The Benalmádena City Council has expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. Mayor Juan Antonio Lara conveyed his condolences to the victims’ family and friends and stressed the profound impact on the city. Several responders needed treatment after exposure to smoke during the rescue and firefighting efforts, a reminder of the risks emergency personnel face.
National figures provide context for the risks posed by residential fires. A December 2025 report by Fundación MAPFRE and the Professional Association of Firefighters’ Technicians (APTB) recorded 234 deaths in fires and explosions in Spain in 2024, including 172 in residential fires. Andalucía accounted for 47 residential-fire deaths, or 24.4% of the national total. The report attributed 69.3% of fire deaths to smoke or toxic-gas inhalation. These nationwide figures do not establish the cause of death in Benalmádena.
The same report found that electrical causes were the most common origin of fatal residential fires in Spain in 2024, accounting for 41.9% of cases. Heating appliances accounted for 20.4%, while smoking-related causes accounted for 14%. Bedrooms were the setting in 25.5% of fatal residential fires. These are national patterns, not findings about the origin or cause of the fire on Calle Ónix.
The report also found that people over 64 made up 45.9% of fire fatalities in 2024. Living alone was associated with an almost fivefold increase in the risk of dying in a domestic fire compared with sharing a home. December and February had the highest numbers of residential-fire victims. The Benalmádena victims, aged 10 and 15, were children, showing that residential fires can have grave consequences across age groups.
The Benalmádena fire follows a series of serious fires across Spain in recent years, including incidents that caused large-scale evacuations and casualties in other regions. For example, a major wildfire in Castellón forced thousands to leave their homes and resulted in multiple injuries, as detailed in this report on emergency evacuations in Vall d'Uixò. Their causes and scale may differ, but urban and rural fires continue to test emergency services and point to the need for effective prevention and response measures.
