HAS at 8:30 p.m. this Sunday, November 17, acrid smoke covered downtown Merville. These tablecloths came from a warehouse on rue Duhamel-Liard, less than 500 meters from the square. The fire broke out for an undetermined reason in this large building not connected to the gas network or electricity. Help came in large numbers from all over Flanders, the Lille metropolis and Dunkirk. A command post was set up facing the Ets Brunel.
The nautical base open to local residents
The hangar belongs to contractor Jack Mervil, a specialist in mobile structures. Tents from the Abris Sans Frontières association, mattresses and other materials are stored there. The firefighters got inside with difficulty. At 10:15 p.m., a nozzle was activated on the roof of the building. The residents of a building located in the axis of the smoke were evacuated. The mayor, Joël Duyck, activated a “ restricted municipal protection plan “. He made the premises of the neighboring nautical base available to local residents where around twenty people were temporarily accommodated. They were examined by a doctor.
Possible pollution surveys
Suspecting possible toxicity from the smoke, firefighters carried out measurements in the center of Merville. They revealed nothing unusual. As a precaution, the first houses on rue Duhamel-Liard were subject to the same type of analysis before the occupants could return to their homes.
