At least seven people, including five firefighters, were injured Tuesday in the fire in a residential building located behind the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV), in the heart of Paris, whose staff was evacuated , according to a report from the mayor of the sector.
The fire broke out around 8:45 a.m. in the six-story building located at the corner of rue de la Verrerie and rue du Temple, just behind the department store, in the heart of the Marais district and a stone’s throw from the Hotel of City. According to an initial assessment provided to AFP by the mayor (PS) of Paris Centre, Ariel Weil, a woman was first taken to the hospital “in relative emergency” then a man “in absolute emergency”. Among the dozens of firefighters who arrived to put out the fire, five “were injured,” he said. “At least one” was caused by an electrical arc which formed in the stairwell and made the intervention “very difficult”. The others were “by heat and inhalation,” he said.
Fire under control since midday
The mayor underlined his “caution on the final assessment” which “may be heavier”. By midday, the fire was generally under control, Ariel Weil said. When contacted, the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) was not immediately available to provide an assessment or an initial assessment of the damage.
The BHV was closed and evacuated before opening to the public. A security perimeter was established by the police while around ten fire trucks were deployed, noted an AFP journalist.
BHV store evacuated
By mid-morning, a plume of smoke was emerging from the first floor of the building and flames were visible on the second floor of the building, which has six floors.
Staff from the main BHV building, located on the sidewalk opposite the damaged building, gathered in a neighboring building and the department store remained closed.
“The store was not affected by the fire which broke out nearby,” a spokesperson for the Société des grands stores (SGM), the commercial property owner of BHV Paris, told AFP.
“The BHV will be closed all day because the area is closed off, but it will welcome customers normally from tomorrow”, Wednesday, the first day of the summer sales, added the SGM. The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, who opened the municipal council at the neighboring City Hall, went to the department store for an update on the emergency response.
