A fatal fire in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. Two men aged 49 and 59 died in the flames on Saturday October 5, shortly before 8 p.m. The fire started in an apartment on the third floor of a building, impasse de l’Orme, 500 meters from the city center. 51 firefighters were deployed to put out the flames, the fire was extinguished around midnight. Three other victims were injuredincluding a firefighter, all evacuated to the city’s hospital center according to the firefighters.
Around twenty people were evacuated from their homes during the intervention. A crisis unit was activated in the evening, in conjunction with the sub-prefecture, to help affected families. According to Bruno Toussaint, the mayor, it was necessary to carry out rehousing of eleven people. The hotels in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges being all full due to the International Geography Festival, the elected officials first thought of requisitioning the MJC Louise Michel. Eventually, a surge of solidarity was established. “There was enormous mobilization and generosityreports Bruno Toussaint. People offered us accommodation in Raon-l’Etape, it was very well organized.” Of the sixteen homes emptied in the evening, eight were able to be reinstated.
The police have opened an investigation to determine the causes of this incident. They are currently unknown.
