British Families Demand Spain Inquiry Into Bédar Wildfire Deaths

Nine of the 15 people killed in a July 9 wildfire in the Spanish village of Bédar were British nationals, and their families are demanding a public inquiry after regional lawmakers blocked one, according to BBC News.

The fire tore through the hillside village in Almería province, in southeastern Spain, on July 9, BBC News reported. Families of the dead say the death toll could have been lower if regional officials had sent an emergency alert to mobile phones as flames approached.

What happened in Bédar on July 9?

Fifteen people died when the wildfire swept through Bédar, BBC News reported. Nine of those killed were British nationals. Among them were Michael Chard and his partner Christine, who had built a house in the village that their son, Duncan Chard, said his father called "Casa Micas." Michael Chard had two artificial knees and walked with a stick, according to his son. When the couple saw the flames, they left their phones and passports behind and tried to drive away, but the road out was blocked, Duncan Chard told BBC News.

A Belgian virologist, Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, told BBC News his father, Stanislas, 63, was on the phone with him as the flames closed in. Verdonckt said his father "never received advice on what they should do, and certainly not warning," according to the BBC's account.

Why do families say the mobile alert system failed?

Duncan Chard told BBC News that a timely alert would have saved lives. "If that evacuation warning had come through in time, my father would still be alive," he said. He argues that failures by officials on the day of the fire contributed to a number of the deaths.

No emergency alert was sent to mobile phones in the area as the fire advanced, BBC News reported. Chard's response, as quoted by the BBC: "Issue the damned alert! Ring the bells, send the police guy out with his horn, go door to door, do everything."

Why was a public inquiry into the fire blocked?

The opposition Socialist party — the party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez — requested a commission of inquiry in the Andalusian parliament, according to BBC News. The governing People's Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party, which together control the chamber, rejected that request, the BBC reported.

The PP and Vox argued that an ongoing criminal investigation would already provide the answers families are seeking, according to BBC News. The Andalusian government, the PP and Vox have been approached for comment by the BBC; none had responded publicly as of the BBC's report.

Families reject the argument that a criminal probe is sufficient. Duncan Chard called the decision to block a parliamentary inquiry "outrageous" and "an injustice," telling BBC News: "As family members, we're absolutely disgusted. This is an insult."

What do officials say about the decision not to send an alert?

Andalusia's emergencies chief, Antonio Sanz, has said the region chose not to use the mobile alert system because it could not be tailored to specific communities within the fire zone, according to BBC News. Officials have said some residents needed to evacuate immediately while others in different parts of the area were safer remaining in their homes.

Officials also told the BBC that a blanket alert risked causing panic and traffic jams — a scenario they said could have made the situation more dangerous, not less. Families dispute that reasoning and say any warning, even an imperfect one, would have given people more time to escape than they had.

What happens next for the families?

With a parliamentary commission of inquiry rejected by the PP-Vox majority, the criminal investigation cited by regional officials remains the primary avenue for establishing what went wrong on July 9, according to BBC News. Families say that process alone does not meet their demand for a public and transparent accounting of the government's actions that day.

Beyond the question of the alert, relatives have also raised concerns about how police have handled the remains and belongings of those killed since the fire, BBC News reported, adding to what Duncan Chard and others describe as compounded grief. No timeline for the criminal investigation's conclusion was given in the BBC's reporting, and no outcome has yet been reported on the request for a renewed inquiry. The nine British deaths represent the highest national toll among foreign victims identified in BBC News's reporting on the 15 fatalities.