It was a Sunday lunchtime when the fire began in the kitchen – the dining area was packed. Radio Salobreña was celebrating its 25th anniversary at the Restaurante El Asador when smoke started billowing out of the kitchen – before the afternoon was out, the restaurant was completely gutted.

All the guests piled out when the alarm was raised and stood, dumfounded, on the street outside, along with locals from the flats above and curious passersby. Before the fire was extinguished, the residents of three apartment blocks had been temporarily evacuated from their homes.

El Asador is one of the most emblematic restaurants in Salobreña, popular both for its food as well as the all-wooden decor – the latter is probably why the fire proved to be so devastating. What better place to hold such an important anniversary; thought the radio-station manager, Eduardo Cruz formed part of the 30-strong diner group gathered for the occasion.

Everybody was congratulating each other when the wife of the owner ran out of the kitchen, shouting for help. The fire had grown so fast in the kitchen that they were completely unable to stop it from spreading further. Everybody reached for their mobile phones to report the fire even as they stumbled out.

The fire service took around 15 minutes to arrive, because they had to come from Motril; 15 minutes within which the fire spread throughout the restaurant, so that by the time the firemen had arrived, it was a case of containing the fire within the premises whilst they fought to extinguish it.

It took ten firemen and three fire trucks to extinguish all the flames. One of the fireman passed out from the heat generated and the wife of the owner had to be given oxygen and medical attention both because of smoke inhalation and because of an anxiety attack.

What should have been a joyous occasion – not only for the radio crew but also because the proprietors had just finished renovating the premises – turned out to be such a bitter one.

The fire became a talking point of not only Salobreña, but also of neighbouring towns such as Almuñécar and Motril, precisely because El Asador was such a well-known restaurant.

(News: Salobreña, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)