Fire at historic Lleida bar injures two

Bombers de la Generalitat were called to a fire at El Barri, a bar on Carrer Sant Martí in Lleida’s historic center, at 2:33 a.m. on Sunday, according to local reports. Four fire crews were sent to the scene after emergency services received an alert about flames inside the premises. Two people were affected by smoke inhalation and were taken to Arnau de Vilanova Hospital, local newspaper Segre reported. Firefighters later ventilated and inspected the building, which did not suffer structural damage, according to the same report. ### Which bar caught fire, and where is it? El Barri was identified by Segre as the business affected by the fire. The bar is on Carrer Sant Martí, a street in the Centre Històric of Lleida, an area of the city known for bars, shops and residential buildings in close proximity. Carrer Sant Martí sits within the old quarter of Lleida, where commercial premises often occupy ground floors beneath apartments or alongside other businesses. (segre.com) That kind of street layout helps explain why a fire in a bar quickly draws a larger emergency response even when the damage is contained to one premises, though no official in the available reporting described any broader building evacuation. ### What do we know about the fire itself? The 2:33 a.m. emergency call set off a response by four fire crews, according to Segre’s initial and follow-up reports. The fire affected part of the bar’s storage area and the dining room, the newspaper said. Once the flames were extinguished, firefighters ventilated the premises and reviewed the property for further risk. (segre.com) Segre reported that the building did not sustain structural damage, a detail that suggests the incident was limited to the interior areas directly affected by the smoke and flames. That assessment was attributed in the report to the emergency response after the fire was put out. ### Who was injured, and how serious were the injuries? Two people were attended by the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques, or SEM, for smoke inhalation, according to Segre. The same reporting said they were transferred to Arnau de Vilanova Hospital in Lleida. Segre’s earlier brief described the injuries as minor smoke inhalation cases. (segre.com) No names, ages or updated medical conditions for the two injured people were included in the publicly available reports reviewed here. ### What caused the blaze? The cause of the fire had not been established in the reports published on May 17 and May 18. Segre said the incident was under investigation. (segre.com) No statement from Mossos d'Esquadra, the fire service or Lleida city authorities was available in the material reviewed, and no public finding on whether the fire was accidental or intentional appeared in those reports. (segre.com) ### What happens next for the site? May 18 was the first day after the overnight fire that fuller local reporting became available, and the next formal step is the cause investigation cited by Segre. (segre.com) Firefighters had already completed ventilation and a building check, with no structural damage reported, which would typically allow attention to shift to cleanup, insurance assessment and any inspection needed before reopening. That final point is an inference based on the reported sequence of emergency actions, not a stated timetable from officials. Arnau de Vilanova Hospital was the destination for the two smoke-inhalation patients, and local authorities had not publicly released further updates on their condition in the reports available on May 18. Any next confirmed development is likely to come from emergency services, police or local reporting as the investigation advances. (segre.com)