Monday morning, three people died in a house fire in Wingles (Pas-de-Calais). The origin of the disaster remains unknown.
Early this Monday morning, in the small town of Wingles in Pas-de-Calais, a home located on rue du Pronet was invaded by flames around 4 a.m. A mother and her two daughters aged 9 and 15 died in the disaster, indicated Étienne Thieffry, the prosecutor of the Béthune court, in a press release.
Two other children in the family were able to escape thanks to the intervention of a neighbor, Marc. Aged 11 and 12, the two young boys were saved at the last minute. “I heard an explosion, so I went out into the street. I took the ladder, the shutters were open, and black smoke was coming out. I helped the boys down the ladder. They were in panic,” he told AFP. Evacuees “in relative urgency”according to an officer from the departmental fire and rescue operational center (Codis), the two brothers were hospitalized in Lens. The father had already left for work at the time of the incident.
The public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into intentional destruction by fire resulting in death. “But at this time, no avenue is favored”declared Étienne Thieffry, explaining that several witnesses were going to be interviewed.
“Sedan type” car
For the moment, the origin of the fire remains unknown. Expert fire technicians accompanied by a specialized canine brigade are continuing the investigations, explains the prosecutor to Figaro this Tuesday. According to a police source, a neighbor told investigators that he had heard an explosion at 4 a.m. He then explains that he looked out of his bedroom window and saw a “sedan type” car parked in front of the house.
-The vehicle would have started “with a bang” while fleeing and would have hit the curb. That morning, however, the road was icy and covered with several piles of snow, underlines a judicial source. The neighbor could have heard a noise linked to this presence of ice, continues this same source which specifies that no link has been established between this mysterious car and the fire. “At this stage, the criminal trail is no more favored than any other”tells us for his part Étienne Thieffry.
Call for donations
“Our thoughts are with the family of the victims. No words will be able to ease their pain, but we would like to assure them of our total support in this tragic ordeal.declared the mayor of Wingles, Sébastien Messent, in a post published on Facebook. The municipality also congratulated the “heroic intervention” of the neighbors and the “professionalism” of the firefighters mobilized for the fire. In total, around fifty firefighters were present on the scene.
Solidarity movements have already started to emerge in the city. Residents have the possibility to drop off their donations at the Émilienne Moreau school and at the Ferry school, writes the Émilienne Moreau Parents' Association in a message published on Facebook. The survivors of the family particularly need clothes. “You can also submit letters or drawings of support or financial assistance”shares the association.
