A few fumaroles escape here and there from the rubble. Two firefighters keep watch, hose on their shoulders. All around, this late Monday morning, this is what remains of this pound: dozens of cars charred under the sun, the roof of the collapsed warehouse… and a company reduced to ashes.
During the night of Sunday May 19 to Monday May 20, a gigantic fire broke out within the premises of the company AMP Dépannages, in Marcoussis (Essonne). “We were called shortly before 4 a.m.,” said the head of emergency operations on the fire side. When the rescuers arrived, the fire had gained ground, spreading quickly, one by one, to the cars parked in rows.
At the height of the fire, no less than 70 firefighters and 7 hoses were mobilized. “The biggest fire of the year,” we heard among the teams.
Around 9:30 a.m., the fire was under control. There remained these so-called “residual” outbreaks in certain places, likely to cause the fire to start again. The relief actions were expected to last a good part of the day, including the securing, by RTE, of the nearby high voltage line. Department teams cut off access to the road running alongside the site.
The gendarmerie is investigating
The violence of the fire, its spread, the time… The circumstances of the facts reveal the possibility of arson. Asked, the public prosecutor of Évry-Courcouronnes, Grégoire Dulin, confirms the opening of an investigation for “deliberate destruction by fire” following “facts a priori of criminal origin”. The investigations are entrusted to the research brigade (BR) of the Évry gendarmerie.
Another element leaves little room for doubt: according to our information, the company’s safe was stolen.
At the entrance to the site, the emotions are serious among the employees and the manager. No one wants to speak out “yet”. AMP Dépannages has been installed along the Montlhéry road, which cuts through fields, for several years. The towing of broken down or damaged vehicles, day and night, punctuates the life of society.
Except that this May 20 marks the (temporary) end of the activity. The fire ravaged the 1,000 m2 of the warehouse, where the reception and offices were also located, as well as an overwhelming majority of the vehicles stored outside. One of the tow trucks also went up in smoke. The company has around ten employees. An inevitable period of technical unemployment is coming for at least some of them.
