Fourteen men, none of whom are related to any of the six fatal victims of a house fire in Écija (Sevilla) last Sunday, were arrested in a series of dawn raids yesterday morning.

Some of the detained have previous convictions for a variety of offences, including drugs trafficking, and robbery.

They have been identified as the main authors of a violent assault on the fire-fighters who dealt with the blaze that started as the victims' bodies were being removed from the scene.

The protesters were angry that it had taken too long for the firemen to arrive though there is evidence to suggest that the first appliance reached the scene within four minutes of the alarm being raised.

In the attack, around fifty protesters surrounded the departing fire trucks, causing minor superficial damage by throwing stones, bottles and other missiles.

Some of the protesters were filmed kicking, punching and even headbutting the fire engines though none of the firefighters themselves were actually injured.

Five of the arrested men were released after being charged though all fourteen are scheduled to appear in court later today.

'Tardy' firemen stoned after fatal house blaze
By: thinkSPAIN
Monday, April 21, 2008

Fire-fighters were insulted and had stones and other missiles thrown at them by a gang of around fifty angry residents following a blaze in the Las Moreras district of Écija (Sevilla) yesterday morning.

Six members of the same family - Antonio Romero (58), his wife Dolores (55), their sons Jesús (25) and José María (16), their daughter María del Carmen (18), who was pregnant, and her boyfriend, whose name and age are not known at this stage - died in the flames.

The fire started at around 7.30am in a two-storey terraced house and seems to have been caused by a faulty gas heater.

According to a fire service spokesman, they received the call at 7.35am, arrived on the scene at 7.38am and had brought the fire under control by 7.40am. This version of events is contradicted by eye-witnesses who claim that it took between 30-45 minutes for the first appliance to appear.

It was at around 12.15pm as the bodies of the six victims were being removed from the property when the attack on the fire-fighters took place. One protester head-butted the windscreen of one of the appliances as it was leaving the scene though it was actually broken by a flying glass bottle (photo). None of the firemen themselves were injured.