Spanish forest fire claims life of 50-year-old Romanian man

Mircea Spiridon, a 50-year-old Romanian man, died in the Spanish region of Tres Cantos while saving an 83-year-old man, the owner of the riding stables razed to the ground in the same fire.

The Romanian arrived in Spain 20 years ago. Married and with two children, ages 14 and 18, he was a mechanic by profession and the owner of a transport company. He is the only person who died in the raging fire that swept through Madrid's mountains.

At 7:45 PM, a bush fire broke out and covered a large area of land next to a newly built residential area. In just 40 minutes, the fire advanced six kilometers, according to ABC.es.

In the middle of the line of fire that stretched from the epicenter to the Soto de Viñuelas residential area, was the riding school, where Mircea Spiridon rushed as soon as he received the call for help from its owner. Once there, already surrounded and with no way to call for help, he entered the stables to try to free the animals.

Later that night, a Civil Guard helicopter rescued him, still alive. He had burns over 98% of his body and could barely breathe due to smoke inhalation. He was immediately transferred by Summa 112 to La Paz Hospital, where he died.

"His condition when he was sent to La Paz Hospital was difficult, and unfortunately, we must mourn his loss and his death," said the mayor of Tres Cantos, Jesús Moreno.

Locals hail the Romanian as a hero. Moreover, friends have set up a bank account for those who wish to help Spiridon's family at this time. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help repatriate his body to Tulcea, where members of his family are buried. So far, around EUR 11,000 has been raised in around 19 hours.

The Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan countries are battling several fires that have already devastated part of the Spanish tourist site Las Médulas, included by UNESCO on the World Heritage List. There are dozens of fires in Spain, which have led to the evacuation of thousands of people. Extreme heat and strong winds caused favorable conditions, and firefighters struggled to contain the flames.

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