Julián, the "hero" janitor of Campanar, receives the affection of the residents of València with loud applause

"I helped everything I could, until the smoke left me," he says.

VALENCIA, 24 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Julián, the doorman of the buildings that burned down on Thursday in the Valencian neighborhood of Campanar, and described as a "hero" because his work was "key" to evacuate those affected, has received the affection of the residents of Valencia in the minute silence that was celebrated in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and in which he was offered strong applause for his bravery. "I helped everything I could, even the smoke left me," he said, and to all the people he could, even a neighbor in a wheelchair.

The buildings' doorman, who worked in these blocks on Maestro Rodrigo de València Avenue since 2009, when they were inaugurated, knocked door to door, as long as he could, to alert the residents of the complex, which has a total of 138 homes. Julián has confirmed that the fire started at door 86 on the 8th floor, in a building where he knew all the neighbors. The fire has claimed the lives of ten people, according to the latest official figures, and hundreds of families have been left homeless.

Julián has highlighted that "many" affected people have personally thanked him for his help and has stressed that teamwork is "very important," he said in statements to the media, after participating in the minute of silence, in which he received numerous expressions of support and affection from the political leaders who participated in the silent rally.

In fact, the Government delegate herself, Pilar Bernabé, has assured that Julián was a "key" person, with the task of establishing affiliation and searching door to door for all the residents who were in the building or who were not there.

The janitor does not know how many floors he went up, but he does know that he took an elderly woman who lived on a lower floor from the fire and when he opened the door he noticed "like a flare" - which was what most It shocked him-- and he helped another neighbor in a wheelchair, who was able to be rescued.

"It's very hard, it's very hard to see all that, the truth is, it's very hard," he detailed, and explained: "I was going up the stairs, I was going up and warning, because there is a staircase that is parallel." And so he believes that he was able to reach the 12th or tenth floor. "In groups we went down to the patio," until due to the smoke he could not continue. At that moment, the firefighters asked him to stay there and that was when "things got worse" since "the burning panchas fell" and, then, he was "scared."

Asked about the instructions of the fire brigade who, according to some media outlets, recommended that residents not leave their homes, the concierge pointed out that "the problem was the smoke." "There was a lot of smoke and you couldn't get down. The problem was there," he highlighted, and lamented, between moments of emotion, that it was "everything so fast", due to the speed with which the fire advanced, which in minutes destroyed the homes.

Regarding his future, he has assured that he does not know, but that for the moment they have told him that he is "on vacation." He has said that now that "doesn't" concern him and that he will have to "talk to them."