• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

No fire laws in Madrid?

Time of past OR future Camino
2006 to date: Over 21 Caminos. See signature line
So I got up this morning to go get coffee and discovered I was locked in to this Hostal overnight. One little old lady has the key to the front door. So if there is a fire in her room I. The night, the rest of us just die because we are trapped? There are no windows in my room. This is a little unnerving. I don't like being locked into a building.

Are there not fire rules in Spain regarding escape routes from buildings?
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
A similar thing happened to me in Navarette last year. (Edit: It was actually Mazarife - I get them confused.) The clocks had just gone forward for the summer and I don't think the woman had reset her alarm clock, so there were loads of pilgrims sitting on the stairs waiting to be let out when she arrived an hour late. All the windows were locked and/or barred otherwise we'd have climbed out. I suspect the laws exist but....
:shock:
Buen Camino.
 
Jesus Y Maria in Pamplona had the doors all locked and un-openable when I was there in 2008 as well. Freaked me out a bit. Maybe there was a fire escape route somewhere but it wasn't obvious.
Margaret
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Annie, I think you should change the subject line to read: "No fire laws in Spain?" because I can't count the number of times this has happened to me. I think the first time was in that huge 15-16 century granary barn that used to be the albergue in Roncesvalles. The door was chained with a padlock! I have often asked myself the same questions and felt the same uneasiness. But I have never figured out what to do about it.

I imagine that the EU has clear safety standards that prohibit this, and Spain may even have its own, but the difference between the law on the books and its implementation in the real world is sometimes huge.

So, did you get a key for tonight? Buen camino, Laurie
 
No Key.
They just think I'm nuts to be concerned. Lol.

Two more nights til i head home.
I will pray for the best. :)
 
I was hospitalera four years ago at the Benedictinas in Sahagun. As part of my instructions, a tiny nun showed me how to close up for the night: iron bar across the door, padlock, deadbolt. (I think they still imagine they are protecting the novitiate against marauding men!) Everyone was totally locked in, each and every night. I was the person with the keys.

"What happens if there´s a fire?" I asked her.
"You unlock the door and let everyone go out," she said. "Or go out into the cloister and wait there."
"What if I am hurt, and can´t unlock the door? What if the fire is between me and the exit?"

She sighed. "This place has been here for 400 years," she said. "If it hasn´t burned down by now, it´s not going to burn down while you are here."

And that was all she had to say.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Complain, Complain, Complain.
Loudly and to all and sundry. Firebrigade, Police, tourist office, local council, anybody in authority.
I've been in the accommodation business all my life and seen some horrific consequences due to unacceptable fire escape practices. Hostels are particularly prone to fire danger as they are often in old cheap poorly maintained buildings and run on the cheap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childers_P ... ostel_fire

Complain
 
Last edited:

Most read last week in this forum

A couple days ago I started the Camino Madrid from Segovia. Some of you may recall that I posted a few months ago looking for a relatively flat Camino to test out my body to find out if I could...
We planning a Camino Mixto of Camino Madrid/Salvador/Primitivo starting in early April next year. April 13-20 is Semana Santa next year We will probably fly in to Barcelona on 4th April and play...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Similar threads

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top