A worrying situation
Every year, the Generalitat Fire Department detects between 2,000 and 2,600 buildings with structural problems of various kinds, of which around sixty end up collapsing. This problem includes homes, uninhabited buildings and partial collapses, as reported by the head of the Collapsed Structures Group (GEC), Ivan Bagan, in an interview with Europa Press.
In recent years, the GEC has intensified its actions, going from carrying out around 20 interventions annually between 2020 and 2022 to doubling the number in 2023, with a total of approximately 43. This increase is due to the concern generated by incidents such as the collapse of a building in Badalona which caused the death of three people and the eviction of thirty-eight families from another building in Esplugues de Llobregat.
GREC’s task
When a warning is received about possible structural problems, the Fire Department goes to the site to carry out an assessment. If deemed necessary, the GEC coordinates preventive evictions and collaborates with municipal architects to take the relevant measures.
Ivan Bagan explained that the objective is to analyze the mechanism of the collapse, whether due to problems with the foundations, explosions or water leaks, and to determine if there is an evolutionary risk that could affect the building or put it in danger its inhabitants.
Importance of maintenance
In the words of the architect and director of the Postgraduate course in Rehabilitation at the Escola Sert of the College of Architects of Catalonia, David Lladó, it is essential to provide adequate maintenance to buildings to avoid structural problems. This maintenance is comparable to the periodic checks carried out on vehicles, as buildings also suffer wear and tear over time and materials need to be renewed.
Lladó emphasizes the importance of carrying out the Technical Inspection of Buildings (ITE) in multi-family constructions over 45 years old, since this inspection allows detecting general deficiencies and provides a guarantee document for a decade.
