A firefighter on the terror attack: “La Rambla empty of people is an image I'll never forget”

When a group of terrorists struck a year ago in Catalonia, it changed the lives of many people. Among those who will never forget the events that caused the deaths of 16 people are also members of the emergency services. With the commemorations for the August 2017 terror attacks underway, a police officer and a firefighter share their memories of the tragic events with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Sergeant of the Mossos d'Esquadra Catalan police, Xavier Pérez, says he is no stranger to difficult situations but that what he saw on August 17 last year “was the strongest of them.”

“You think you’re ready for it, but when faced with it you see that although you’ve been trained you have to find a little extra inside so that you don’t freeze, and freezing up in those situations is the last thing that can happen to a police officer or a firefighter,” he says.

Despite 35 years serving in the Mossos police, Pérez admits his experience attending to victims on Barcelona’s La Rambla after the attack has left him reluctant to go back to the Catalan capital’s major boulevard.

“It makes you tearful and I cried a lot at that time, due to the reaction of the public, who applauded you or gave you flowers, and that of family, friends and colleagues. There were some very emotional moments, very emotional,” he says.