two years after a fire, it was back to school day in Tosse, in a new school

HAS 8 a.m., in the cool gray of November, a child's wonder for his new school is inevitably a little timid when the start of the school year also marks the end of the holidays. On the other hand, the many parents who came as chaperones were particularly enthusiastic this Monday, November 4. “Here is a new school”, “thank you for this beautiful school”, greeted some towards Mayor Jean-Claude Daulouède, present for this particular start of the school year.

It closes a “traumatic” episode, “a terrible shock” for the residents. One Sunday in September 2022, the kindergarten and after-school reception were ravaged by a fire. The classes concerned had been temporarily moved to Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse, before “modular constructions” were installed during the work.

” Future “

Exit prefabricated classrooms, make way for the comfort of a new school. A few minutes after the start of the school year, the kindergarten children already seemed to have found their feet, in a quiet sound environment, in comparison with the prefabricated buildings and works.

“We made the choice to raze everything and start with a brand new school”

Announced cost of this new building: 4 million euros, with a balance of 700,000 euros for the municipality, estimates the mayor. Before launching the reconstruction project, “we waited to know where we were going, how much the insurance companies were going to reimburse us. We did not choose an identical construction. We made the choice to raze everything and start with a brand new school, with financial implications. We created a school for the future,” explains Jean-Claude Daulouède.

The contours of the Tosse primary school, which accommodates 320 pupils in nursery and elementary school, should still change. Exterior developments will be carried out to secure pedestrian and bicycle access. The playground should soon be renovated and planted with vegetation. Sketches could be presented to residents during an open day at the school on Saturday 14 December.

Investigation

A few weeks after the fire, which occurred on Sunday September 18, 2022, a minor aged 17 at the time of the events was placed in police custody, then presented to the Dax public prosecutor's office on the following November 9. Tried in December 2022 by the children's court, he was found guilty of destruction of property by means dangerous to people.
With the conviction, a provisional judicial educational measure (MEJP) was pronounced, “comprising a certain number of modules: care, integration and reparation. The minor notably participated, during school holidays, in an environmental awareness project, linked to forest fires. The MEJP went well,” according to the Dax prosecutor’s office.
According to the investigation, the fire spread to the school after “a cardboard box in a trash can ignited”. The school became a civil party. In September 2024, this aspect of the file was still in progress.