A man was arrested this morning of January 1 after the fire earlier at the end of the night which broke out in a village hall in Vivier-au-Court (Ardennes). The 150 people who were celebrating the New Year had already left the premises.
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The transition to the new year turned into a nightmare in one of the village halls, rue Jules Manil, in Vivier-au-Court, in the Ardennes, this Wednesday January 1st.
Around 7:15 a.m., firefighters had to go to the scene because of a fire that had broken out a few minutes earlier. The 150 guests of the New Year's party had already left when the building caught fire, so there were no injuries to report: “The New Year's Eve went very well, with great camaraderie. Every year, we're used to doing it, with music and lots of atmosphere. We left very happy, around 5:30-6 a.m. “confides Sylvain, one of the organizers of the party. “And an hour later, we were called and told that the room was on fire. At first, we thought it was a joke, we went there and realized that everything was on fire. I'm disgusted, in shock, I have no words. 2025 is off to a very bad start..
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A fire broke out in a village hall in Vivier-au-Court this Wednesday, January 1.
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©Eric Blaude
The emotion is all the more important since this village hall is very appreciated by the residents: “It’s a room full of history, many people got married here, they even held baptisms or communions. My father had several meals in this room”says Sylvain, with moist eyes.
The Vivier-au-Court village hall was set on fire this Wednesday, January 1.
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© Solène Anson / France Télévisions
The fire is currently extinguished: “When we arrived on the scene, we were confronted with a complete conflagration of the roof with a risk of propagation to the two adjacent buildings including the local school, the main objective was therefore to avoid the spread,” explains Sébastien Matringhend-Avet, the lieutenant staff of Prix-les-Mezieres. The roof of the village hall presents a risk of collapse. The firefighters must now treat the residual fires to prevent a resumption of fire and carry out a flooding and stripping operation, to remove everything that has been burned.
An investigation was quickly opened and at 8 a.m., a man was arrested and placed in police custody, Magali Josse, the Public Prosecutor of Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes), confirms. The criminal trail seems favored, but the investigation is ongoing to determine the origins of this fire.
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