the essential
A man in his thirties died on the night of Tuesday December 24 to Wednesday December 25, 2024 in Castelmayran, in Tarn-et-Garonne. He died in a house fire, which he may have caused himself.
Terrible Christmas Eve night in Castelmayran, in Tarn-et-Garonne. This small village of 1,200 inhabitants was the scene of a drama in several acts on the night of Tuesday December 24 to Wednesday December 25, 2024.
A man in his thirties died in a fire in his house on Chemin de Saint-Couflan.
The occupant locks himself in his home
According to information from The Dispatchthe firefighters and the Castelsarrasin gendarmerie company intervened for the first time during the late afternoon, Tuesday, December 24. Initially, emergency services were called for an armed man who had taken refuge in his home, with suspicion of a fire starting.
Upon their arrival, the soldiers faced the closed gate of the accommodation. According to some witnesses, the gate was chained and the occupant's car was placed just behind the removable fence. The man walled himself in, going so far as to close the shutters of each window.
No contact between the police and the victim
The gendarmes of the Castelsarrasin company, commanded by Commander Diaz, set up a large device, closing in particular for several tens of minutes the departmental roads 26, which leads to Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, and 12, which is connected to the first axis by a roundabout. They also tried to make contact with the maniac. Unfortunately, no feedback reached them.
Despite these circumstances, around 8 p.m., both axes were returned to traffic. The system was, despite everything, still in place to, if necessary, reconnect with what seemed to be a desperate person.
A blaze around midnight
New alarm, terrible, around midnight. A huge fire then broke out before the eyes of the police. The firefighters, who had left the scene, therefore moved a second time, this time to fight against the flames.
In total, thirteen firefighters were mobilized to try to contain the fire. Unfortunately, the efforts of the emergency services, who worked all night, were in vain. Finally, around 6 a.m., the ax fell. The forty-year-old was found unconscious in the middle of the rubble.
“A reserved inhabitant”
For the moment, no avenue has been ruled out, even if that of suicide seems the most likely. Gendarmerie investigators carried out the first investigations at the end of the night, Wednesday December 25. They should be relayed by Criminal Identification Technicians (TIC) this Christmas Day.
The mayor of the town, Thierry Jamain, obviously came to support the effort of the rescue and security forces, “without wanting to pollute their intervention,” he told The Dispatch the morning of the tragedy. The victim was a reserved resident. He seemed to have personal problems, but I don't know much more,” he concludes, still tired from the events.
According to our information, the man has been hospitalized in recent days. He had left the care establishment which had received him of his own accord.
