A fire broke out on Monday, September 2, at the Immaculate Conception church in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais). The fire was contained around 7:15 a.m. and an investigation was opened in the evening.
An investigation has been opened after a violent fire broke out in a church in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais) on the night of Sunday 1 to Monday 2 September, the bell tower of which collapsed, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture announced on Monday.
At around 4:30 a.m., a “major fire” broke out in the Immaculate Conception church, the prefecture reported in a press release.
Thanks to the action of 120 firefighters, the fire was contained on Monday morning, but the church bell tower collapsed, the prefecture told AFP.
No one was injured but 57 residents living near the building were evacuated as a precaution.
Surrounded by fire engines, the church revealed the black metal skeleton of its bell tower at midday, an AFP journalist noted.
“The vault has fallen, so we can see the sky directly,” described the parish priest, Sébastien Roussel, who was allowed to enter the church.
The cause of the fire was not known on Monday. An investigation has been opened, under the authority of the Saint-Omer prosecutor, the prefecture said.
Inaugurated in 1859
On site Monday morning, the prosecutor, Mehdi Benbouzid, explained that “a priori” the fire started in the sacristy but said he was waiting for precise findings to decide on its origin.
On Monday, securing the scene took precedence over the investigation. The last remaining fires were extinguished in the evening, according to the prefecture.
Inaugurated in 1859, the church was “completely restored and then reopened in 2018,” according to the tourist office’s website. It specifies that it contains “remarkable neo-Gothic-inspired furniture.”
According to the prefecture, “the works preservation unit was engaged” and “20 religious objects” were able to be recovered and put in a safe place.
“It is once again our religious heritage that has been affected by a fire,” wrote the resigning Minister of Culture Rachida Dati on X, addressing her “solidarity” to the inhabitants and the faithful.
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