The Drôme firefighters were called to a fire in a building in Loriol-sur-Drôme, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The fire started a little before 3 a.m. on a parked car on Avenue de la République. The flames then spread to a gas cubicle which ignited and set fire to the neighboring store. The electrical equipment store is located on the ground floor of a residential building. The fire caused the store window to explode, a noise which woke up André, a neighbor “It was a big noise, like it was gas or the car exploding, it’s rare to hear that here.”
Firefighters evacuated the apartments above. There were still around thirty there this Wednesday morning. There were no injuries. 25 residents had to be evacuated, some were able to quickly return to their homes and a dozen of them were brought to safety in a community hall then rehoused with family or by the town hall.
“Flames three meters high”
The mayor of Loriol-sur-Drôme, Claude Aurias, went there all night with his first deputy: “There were flames three meters high, It was especially the lady who lived above the company who was very, very scared. Fortunately she had a large terrace, she was able to take refuge there during the fire while waiting for the firefighters to deploy the ladder.. This Wednesday morning, dozens of residents came to see the extent of the disaster, this is the case of Rosette: “It was my nurse who told me the news, I know the lady who lives there well, we are part of an old-timers’ club. When I heard that I said to myself ‘poor thing, she is disabled what’s more, “if help is needed, I have a spare room at my house”, suggests this resident of rue de la République.
The activity of the affected company continues
The bosses of the Jeanne Christophe company were called during the night to assess the damage: “we quickly arrived on site but everything was already in flames. We are destitute, it’s our life, our business, we’ve been here for 25 years. It’s sad”, deplores Corinne Jeanne, co-manager of the company. Despite the disaster, the loss of computer data and customer files, the company’s activity continues : “we have a depot with all our equipment, the projects in progress will be able to continue to progress, even if there will be an operating loss for us, but we cannot stop overnight. a duty towards our customers.” The company’s managers say they are very touched by the numerous messages of support received on social networks since the fire.
Access to the street prohibited until further notice
Rue de la République has been secured. Experts are due to come and assess the damage in the coming days. “There is no risk of immediate collapse”explains the mayor of the town, “but the roof heated up well, as did the small balcony, we are still going to block access to the sidewalk for safety.” An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the fire on the vehicle.
Louise Joyeux
Louise Joyeux
Louise Joyeux
