The fire is now extinguished. Three people died in the fire of a five-storey building in the historic center of the city of Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes, which occurred on Sunday morning, firefighters announced.
What happened ?
“The Alpes-Maritimes departmental fire and rescue operational center received numerous calls in the middle of the night (around 3 a.m.) for a major release of smoke in a residential building in the center of Grasse”, have said firefighters. “An alarm started to beep and then I heard screams and that’s what woke me up,” said Martine, who lives on the second floor and prefers not to mention her last name.
“A woman called for help, shouting fire and asked to call the fire brigade, which I did. Above her floor, a man tried to descend to escape the flames and then he fell,” she added. Arrived on the spot, the emergency services found that a virulent fire was spreading in the stairwell of a five-storey building located on the Place aux Aires. Only the building in question was affected, those adjoining remained intact.
A security cordon has been set up around this historic square in Grasse. AFP or licensors
The emergency services found in front of the building the inanimate body “of a person who had thrown himself” from one of the floors to escape the flames then “two people inside the building”, explained Jean-Christophe Start. In total, 50 firefighters and 17 machines were mobilized, specifies France Blue Azure. The fire was extinguished around 6 a.m.
How many victims?
In addition to the three deceased victims, whose identities have not been revealed, the emergency services have counted three seriously injured, four slightly injured and 11 people “involved unharmed”, according to local media.
“Three people are in absolute emergency, including one, seriously burned, evacuated by helicopter to Toulon. And 15 other inhabitants of the building are themselves in relative emergency or involved and have been transported to the hospitals of Grasse and Nice Pasteur, “says Commander Jean-Christophe Demarte, head of the Grasse company, to Nice morning. “The number of people to be rescued will not change but the condition of the victims can always change,” explained Captain Aymeric Soufflet.
What is the origin of fire?
At this stage, the origin of the fire and its circumstances have yet to be clarified. “The investigation is underway to determine the origin of the disaster,” explained the Grasse prosecutor’s office. Seized, the judicial police installed a barnum in front of the building to make the first findings. It is always advisable to avoid the area.
“The municipality is working to requalify these buildings in the historic center. Many of them have structural problems. This one did not have any, ”said the LR mayor of Grasse, Jérôme Viaud, on Sunday. Renovation work on the facade and common areas was however “planned for October”.
A dozen people relocated
A security cordon has been set up around this historic square in Grasse. Following this fire, at least eleven people will be relocated to a hotel in the city. “The building will be closed. The people who lived there will not be able to access it for a while” because it is necessary “to let the investigation be done”, indicated the mayor.
2023-08-13 08:57:14
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