New wave of fires triggers alarm in Guinardó despite pyromaniac arrest

Residents of Baix Guinardó and el Guinardó warn of a 'constant trickle of fires' that have burned cars and facades since early December.

Street scene showing burned cars and motorcycles in the Guinardó neighborhood of Barcelona, with facade damage.

Street scene showing burned cars and motorcycles in the Guinardó neighborhood of Barcelona, with facade damage.

A new series of fires has affected vehicles and building facades in the Baix Guinardó and el Guinardó neighborhoods of Barcelona during the first half of December, causing significant community concern.

The latest confirmed incident occurred in the early hours of December 17 on Carrer de Praga, where the flames destroyed two cars and three motorcycles, one of them electric, in addition to damaging the facade of a building. This fire follows another incident on December 16 at the junction of Rosalia de Castro and Padilla streets, where several motorcycles were burned, according to the neighborhood profile La Veu del Guinardó.
This new wave of fires comes after the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Guàrdia Urbana arrested a 63-year-old man on December 4, who was linked to about thirty similar incidents in Horta-Guinardó, Gràcia, and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. However, police sources rule out that the perpetrator of these recent fires is the same individual, as he was jailed on December 7.

"We repeatedly identified a man in areas of Barcelona where containers had been burned. We located him and caught him setting fire to two containers, causing the ignition of parked vehicles. He uses paraffin tablets to start the fires, and the damages exceed €2,500."

Mossos d’Esquadra · Catalan Police Force
The man arrested on December 4, who has two prior records, used paraffin tablets as an incendiary method, focusing on cardboard and paper containers. Although he is formally charged with only three fires, the investigation launched in May 2025 links him to about thirty similar crimes over three months.
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