The Saint-François church, located on Boulevard de Strasbourg, in Montpellier, near Saint-Roch station and the city center, has been the victim of a fire since this Wednesday morning. Some 80 firefighters are mobilized to protect the building and prevent it from spreading to exterior buildings.
The origin of the fire has not yet been determined, but waterproofing work was taking place on the zinc roof of the building, according to firefighters. “The fire started between the roof and the frame,” explains Eric Florès, departmental director of Sdis de l’Hérault.
Openings in the roof to lower the temperature
Firefighters made several openings in the roof “in order to reduce the temperature and the accumulation of smoke because it is this accumulation which regenerates the fire throughout the roof and the frame”.
At 3 p.m., the fire was still not contained. The emergency services worked to secure numerous religious and cultural elements present in the building, in particular an imposing statue of the Virgin Mary, which was able to be extracted from the church.
