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Firefighter Says Higher-Ups Curbed 2024 Valencia Flood Response, Naming Mazón in Court

The judge is now zeroing in on who set the limits on the response.

Overview

  • Alberto Pardo Raso, a forest firefighter, testified Friday that political superiors "cut the wings" of responders and named former regional president Carlos Mazón as one of those above them.
  • He told the court that ex–justice and interior chief Salomé Pradas joined crews in Carlet that morning and, in his view, did what she could within the limits set for her.
  • Pardo said emergency teams were told to go home at 18:30 on October 29, a decision he described as part of the restrictions placed on the response.
  • The case file now includes his WhatsApp messages and a March audio he sent to Pradas saying both she and firefighters had bosses over them.
  • An SGISE report added to the case this week says only 2 of 25 brigades worked into the night and most ended around 19:30, underscoring scrutiny of timing decisions.