Fire at Restaurant Les Quatre Sergents in La Rochelle: Investigation Underway, Uncertainty About Reopening

A fire broke out around 1pm this Thursday in the loft of the restaurant Les Quatre Sergents, at 49 rue Saint-Jean-du-Pérot, near the Old Port in La Rochelle. A thick plume of dark gray smoke escaped from the roofs, the color of the smoke then changed to light gray. Firefighters now have the fire under control, but there is still an investigation to prevent it from reviving.

The fire started in a laundry room on the 3rd floor of a building behind the magnificent glass ceiling of the listed Eiffel, which overlooks the restaurant room. The roof of this 60 m2 building collapsed. There were no injuries according to staff. Customers, who were having lunch when the fire started, were evacuated.

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Uncertainty about reopening the restaurant

The firefighters sent large resources to the scene: two large ladders, three fire trucks. They managed to stop the flames from spreading to other buildings on the street.

It is difficult to know at this time what caused this fire. “The flames went out very quickly“, said the manager of the Quatre Sergents, Carlos Foito. In the loft there were washing machines and linen that had been stored.

We have to wait for the experts to know if the restaurant can reopen or not.. The dining room and kitchen were not affected. But can the restaurant function without a carving room and laundry? Everything also depends on the stability of the walls of the building where the fire started, the roof and the frame were destroyed. This fire is currently leaving about thirty workers out of work.

Several streets in the neighborhood are closed to traffic. Firefighters are asking to avoid the area if possible.