Not this albergue, but in another relatively new and modern one in which I stayed (do not remember the location) the fire alarm sounded about 3 AM and continued its deaf defying screech for at least thirty minutes. The beds were all on the upper floor with a single hallway and stairs as an only exit route. A restaurant and kitchen were on the ground level. When the alarm sounded, my natural reaction as well as that of a group of Canadians who had also been soundly asleep, was to awaken immediately and make the way toward an exit, pending the outcome of a determination of whether there was a true emergency. Surprisingly all other pilgrims, most of whom were Spanish, stayed in their beds and wrapped pillows around their heads to muffle out the sound.
For the following two or three days, two fellow Spaniards with whom I had been traveling were retelling my reaction to the alarm to everyone that we met. It was hilarious to them that I took the thing seriously. Admittedly I did jump out of bed and get out of the room as if my life might depend on it. I seriously considered that it might. Could only conclude that Spaniards have the same disregard for fire alarms that we Americans have for car alarms. That is to ignore them.
Sorry to read this news of the tragic alburgue fire. Thanks for posting the article; I've emailed it to those two amigos of mine so as to finally be vindicated against the charge of being a fool! More importantly, hopefully all will take a fire alarm seriously.
And for some more paranoid Amerispeak: Far too many albergues are locked tight overnight and have a real potential for becoming deathtraps. This was a concern I've heard expressed by a few people of varying nationalities. I do understand that different nations have different safety requirements. Is my concern an overreaction?
