What changes for visitors and residents in the south?

Visitors to the southern resorts of Gran Canaria will notice nothing. The authorities have reported no closures, conditions or new safety rules since the fire of 13 November 2026.

The fire hit a residential house on Avenida de Gáldar, not a hotel. No report mentions any affected holiday accommodation.

Reports differ on the exact spot: one names Playa del Inglés, another San Fernando de Maspalomas. Both belong to the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.

So far no statement from the Ayuntamiento (town council) or the Cabildo (island government) is known. Nobody has named new duties for residents or guests.

What happened on the night of 13 November?

The fire broke out at about 01:35 in the duplex, according to the emergency control centre CECOES 112 Canarias. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana fire brigade got the alert at 01:37.

The flames were already well advanced when crews arrived. Seven firefighters, including two cabos (a firefighter rank), put out the blaze and aired the house.

Inside, crews found both women dead. The Servicio de Urgencias Canario (SUC, the Canary Islands emergency medical service) sent three ambulances, one with a doctor.

The Policía Local (local police) secured the area. The Policía Nacional (national police) took over the investigation and had given no timetable by Friday.

How did Tijane escape the smoke?

Five people lived in the duplex, but only Tijane, 45, and the two women were home that night. He was in his room when the power went out, and he got up using his phone as a torch.

When he opened the door, thick smoke hit him, he says. He took off his shirt and ran down the stairs.

He took only his phone out of the house. The SUC treated him, and he was taken to Hospital San Roque Maspalomas with moderate smoke poisoning.

What is known about the rescue attempts and the cause?

Downstairs, Tijane says he heard Marimar, about 50, calling out as she tried to help her bedridden mother, about 79. He went in several times but could see nothing in the smoke.

Marimar would not leave without her mother and also looked for the dog, which died too. Tijane lost sight of her when she went back into the house.

“I was saved because I did not fall asleep,” says Tijane. He believes staying awake was decisive for reacting in time.

On the cause, he says Marimar spoke of a television on the ground floor throwing sparks. That is only his version, since nothing is officially confirmed and the police must still establish the cause.

What do firefighters advise in a home fire?

Closing doors is decisive because it slows smoke and flames, said Xisco Bonnín, head of Mallorca's fire service, in June 2026. His advice comes from Mallorca and is not a rule from the Canary Islands authorities.

Staying in the flat is usually the best choice, but whether to stay or flee depends on the building. Joan Fornàs, Mallorca's emergency director, calls leaving doors open when fleeing a flat a common mistake.

“The more doors you close, the more lives you save,” says Fornàs. If smoke comes under the door, he recommends putting a wet towel or sheet in the gap.

Whether this advice would have helped in Maspalomas is open, because the sequence of events and the cause are not yet clear. No expert assessment of this case exists.

What is still open, and how does the case fit in?

Still open are the cause, the exact sequence of events and official confirmation of the victims' identities. No date for next steps has been published.

In April 2026, four people died in a fire at the Edificio Rosme II in Los Realejos, Tenerife. They suffocated on toxic smoke, and about 30 residents of the 16-flat building were evacuated.

On 11 June 2026, two people died in the Trianon II building in Magaluf, Mallorca. Neither case has any link to the Maspalomas fire.

Answers are likely only once the national police and the San Bartolomé de Tirajana town council report results. They have announced no date.