A disused warehouse was recently burnt down, Lalande district in Toulouse. According to the inhabitants, we came close to disaster. Several tens of tons of tyres, car parts and shelving are abandoned in this 3,000 m2 hangar. The owners are slow to clean the place
Residents feared the worst. On the night of February 7 to 8, 2023, a fire took place in a 3,000 m² hangar, located at the end of the Launaguet road, on the edge of the municipality of Toulouse. A few meters from small apartment buildings. Fortunately, no residents had to be evacuated, but the firefighters took the disaster very seriously. Nineteen men and five machines intervened. Following the investigation by police officers from the anti-crime brigade, three individuals were arrested.
Dozens of tires near homes
Abandoned for several years, the spare parts company has remained unsecured
Members of the Lalande neighborhood committee contacted The Midi Dispatch, because for them, this abandoned site represents a real “ticking time bomb”. “A few hours after the fire, I went to the scene. There were no barriers to prevent access to the interior of the building, no signs prohibiting access or warning anyone wishing to enter the compound in question. Not even tape to mark a potential danger for passers-by, ”explains Félix Martin-Moral, member of the neighborhood committee.
Another fire in Toulouse downtown that evening…
The local resident recalls that the same night of February 7, another fire took place in Toulouse, but Place de la Trinité, in the city center. The next day on the spot, barriers prevented from using the sidewalk, ribbons warned passers-by. Municipal by-laws were posted in several places on the facades of the building. None of that, route de Launaguet.
The town hall of Toulouse has been discussing for several months with the owners, without success
Two weeks after the fire, and more than a year after the neighborhood committee alerted the town hall to the dangerousness of the site, it is still as it is.
The district mayor, Olivier Arsac, requested by The Dispatch, provided answers on the supposed “slowness” of the authorities, and in particular of the town hall. “This site has been abandoned for many years. From 2020, we have seen its degradation. We had to find the owners, get in touch with them. It is an indivision, with the problems that this implies between its members. We received them in 2021, telling them that this site in the heart of the district had to be secured first, and that we had to think about its conversion…”
Inside, hundreds of shelves are still in place.
An estimate of €60,000 to clean and secure the premises
The owners then had an estimate drawn up for the cleaning and securing of the premises. The amount, €60,000, stopped them in their business. After the dialogue phase, the town hall gave notice to the owners to clean the premises at the beginning of January. Eight weeks later, the fire occurred. The town hall then forwarded the case to the courts.
Owner commitments, which will be scrutinized by the town hall and local residents
This seems to have caused a real awareness, since the owners undertook, “just a few days ago”, according to the district mayor, to secure and clean the site, in the first half of March. The neighborhood committee and the town hall will remain vigilant that this commitment is kept.
