54-year-old woman dies in violent fire

The Figaro Nice

A mysterious and tragic fire broke out late Saturday afternoon in a building on Avenue Malaussena in Nice. The fire broke out around 6:30 p.m., causing a significant amount of smoke, visible from the street. 23 people were evacuated and several of them were injured. Eight were treated by emergency services as a relative emergency, including four taken to hospital, including a minor for carbon monoxide poisoning. The others were placed in a hyperbaric chamber.

Only one resident of the building could not be saved in time. The latter, aged 54, died in the flames with her dog. The firefighters who extracted her from her home in cardiorespiratory arrest tried to resuscitate her, in vain. The latter was pronounced dead on the scene. The fifty firefighters present on the scene carried out a total of five rescues and 15 shelters for people present in the building.

Battery explosion

An investigation has been opened to determine the origin of the fire, which at this stage remains unclear. According to the testimony of a painter and decorator, present in an apartment at the time of the incident, an electric scooter that was charging was the cause. More precisely, its battery, which exploded. “This is a serious and probable lead, but at this stage it is based solely on the painter’s testimony.”comments a police source from Nice.

In any case, this would not be the first time that one of these motorized devices has caused a fire. On the night of June 25 to 26, a fire broke out in an apartment in Dunkirk (Nord) after a battery exploded. On January 27, an entire building was evacuated near Saint-Étienne (Loire) for similar reasons. Four people were slightly injured, including a 10-month-old baby and a 10-year-old girl. On April 26, 2023, in Nice, a 14-year-old teenager was also seriously injured when his scooter battery exploded. Overcharging due to an overly powerful charger, short circuit, manufacturing defect, poor maintenance… The causes of lithium batteries in electric scooters exploding are numerous.