Retritout fire in Mellac: “We will have to rebuild the future now” [Vidéo]

“I had around twenty missed calls. I was woken up by the news of the fire”, says with emotion Catherine Ponceaux, coordination assistant of the Retritout association in Mellac, in front of the building in the Kervidanou 2 zone, destroyed by fire on Wednesday night 6 to Thursday, November 7, 2024. The latter is alongside the rest of the team of employees and volunteers, who came to see the damage while the firefighters were still on deck to extinguish the last outbreaks of fire in the country's recycling and resourcing center from Quimperlé. “We were called at 12:40 a.m. It was employees from the neighboring bakery who raised the alarm,” explains lieutenant Gildas Le Garrec, volunteer firefighter. It took the presence of around fifty firefighters from different barracks, equipped with five lances, to put out the blaze.

Ten tons of household appliances

Of the 1,000 m² of the store, between 700 and 800 m² went up in smoke. An association truck burned as well as three other cars in the parking lot. The shop part was spared by the flames but not by the smoke and water. The storage has completely disappeared. “It’s difficult to quantify what we lost. Household appliances represent ten tonnes of material,” estimates Catherine Ponceaux. An investigation has been opened. According to the first elements, the accidental hypothesis would be favored.

“A necessary association”

“We don’t understand what could have happened. We break out every evening,” assures the coordination assistant. Everyone is a little stunned. “It feels weird. It would have been a normal company… But this is an association with a soul. We love our job,” assures Catherine Ponceaux. Very quickly, however, optimism returned. “We receive messages of support from other associations,” enthuses Emmanuelle Dardelet, volunteer. “We’re going to get back together. In any case, the premises were obsolete. Too small,” assures Philibert Titon, one of the founders of Retritout and a volunteer.

As the structure of the building is very damaged, it is likely that the whole thing will be demolished. “We have to wait for insurance to come through. In the meantime, we will secure the area,” says Patrice Le Goff, deputy mayor of Mellac.

“We received visits from elected officials, calls, we feel supported,” adds the coordinator. “It’s an important association. It does social work and is necessary for many people in the area,” confirms Patrice Le Goff. “Now it is the future that we must rebuild. It's not serious. We still have a van and the tip pig,” he laughs, pointing to a large piggy bank that was spared by the fire.