essential A fire on the roof of the Hubert-Reeves de Fleurance college in the Gers caused the evacuation of 280 students this Monday, April 28 in the early afternoon. No injuries are to be deplored, lessons should resume during the week.
The 280 students and the 36 staff members of the Hubert-Reeves college, in Fleurance (Gers), lived an unusual day this Monday afternoon. Around 1:30 p.m., the alarm has sounded, causing an evacuation of the establishment. The middle school students were immediately taken to the Eli Castaing municipal hall, located nearby, under the supervision of their teachers and the head of the school.
According to the first findings relayed by the emergency services, the fire was born in the solar panels installed on the roof for several years by an external company. The flames damaged around 35 m² of roof before being controlled by the rapid intervention of the firefighters.
No injuries to deplore
Nearly thirty firefighters from six neighboring centers have mobilized substantial means to quickly circumscribe the fire and secure the premises. The college power supply was cut out for a precaution, and several water infiltrations, which occurred during rescue operations, made at least one classroom temporarily unusable.
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“We quickly evacuated the students to the Eloi Castaing room. Everything took place calm,” said the establishment of the establishment, Patricia Hannoy. On site, the students, grouped together waited calmly that their parents were informed and come to recover them.
Towards a resumption of lessons this Tuesday
The emotion was palpable, but the discipline and the responsiveness of the staff and the teachers made it possible to avoid any panic situation. “The main thing is that no student or a member of the staff have been injured or intoxicated,” said the president of the department, Philippe Dupouy, present on the scene. He also praised the good coordination between the school and the rescue teams.
An investigation is underway to determine the precise origin of the fire. A technical failure linked to solar panels is envisaged, but other hypotheses must still be verified.
While waiting for the conclusions, the students take advantage of an in addition afternoon of more vacation. However, a normal resumption of courses on Tuesday was not completely excluded according to Philippe Dupouy: “Everything is done so that the establishment can reopen as soon as possible.”
