Grenoble. Awakened by a huge explosion, she says: “It was panic”

A violent explosion sounded in a store located at 22 rue Stalingrad on Sunday 29 January. The explosion took place in the center of Grenoble shortly after 11 p.m.

Following the explosion, a fire broke out in this building which houses around twenty people. Nathalie* lives just above the “Saveurs d’Italie” store. She recounts her nightmarish night.

“I had to save my cats”

Nathalie lives on the first floor of the building where the fire broke out. “I was lying on my couch and I was about to fall asleep when I heard a big explosion,” says the resident.

Neither one nor two, she goes to her window thinking she sees a traffic accident: “I saw flames and smoke everywhereI understood that we had to get out quickly”.

With her companion, she gave herself a mission “to save the cats and my dog”, which they did.

After alerting their neighbor who is an elderly lady, they hastened to leave their apartment in what she describes as “a brothel”. “Everything was smoky in the cellars, it was panic to get out”, describes Nathalie still under the influence of emotion.

“One night of 2 hours”

Nathalie and the twenty or so residents of the building were all able to be evacuated by the emergency services around 11:30 p.m. Luckily, the fire did not spread in the building and only the grocery store was burnt out.

« Neighbors from another building opened their hall to us so that we don’t end up freezing,” smiles the woman. Residents were able to return to their homes shortly after two o’clock in the morning.

After only two hours of sleep, Nathalie went to work this Monday, January 30. Still in shock, she tells Grenoble news that “the smell of burning” has not left his apartment.

*assumed first name

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