12 h 30. The fire is still not contained. Firefighters are still working in the cellars and will remain so all day. “We will also maintain night surveillance,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Gaël Zimmer. “We are in a special situation, with very large cellars and wooden mezzanines on two levels. It’s a technical and complex operation.”
Two firefighters were injured, one in the thumb during a rescue operation, the other suffered first degree burns while going down into a cellar. “The two wanted to continue their mission, they were taken into account by a medical team. We had a very strong commitment, with nearly 120 firefighters at peak who were very involved. » On the residents’ side, three people were treated for smoke inhalation.
11 h 30. Rue du Palais is once again accessible to pedestrians, who can cross to reach Place de Chambre.
11 h 20. Behind the security perimeter set up by the firefighters, Lise and her partner came this Monday morning with their loved ones and two empty suitcases to try to recover some belongings. “We learned that a few neighbors were able to recover some yesterday, the firefighters told us that they were going to try to collect them and put them in garbage bags. » Their apartment is located at 3th floor of 1, rue aux Blés.
“It was our smoke detector that woke us up, it was 4 a.m., there was a strong smell of smoke in the room. I opened it to look and there was a wave of smoke coming into the room,” says Lise, 25 years old. She was lowered by the firefighters through the stairwell, hood over her face, while her partner was evacuated by the ladder “with the cat on his back”.
The couple relocated with their parents
Lise had to be taken care of by the firefighters, having inhaled smoke. “Then I still had headaches. I had to return to the Strasbourg hospital, where they have a hyperbaric chamber to remove carbon monoxide. » She left the hospital on Sunday evening and, as of Monday morning, the couple was able to recover some papers and clothes from their home thanks to the firefighters. The couple was able to be accommodated by their parents, but they do not know what condition the apartment is in. “We see traces of black smoke on our windows,” they point out.
9 h 30. Lieutenant-Colonel Zimmer in charge of operations for the Moselle Departmental Fire and Rescue Service provided a situation update on this particularly difficult fire to contain. At night, 40 firefighters were mobilized. The situation is stable but the fire is not considered to be out. A replacement arrived this Monday morning, also 40 fire soldiers who will be able to continue to act on several fronts: “We are going to pump the water and foam spilled into the cellars where the fire started, to be able to once again hire staff. » It is a question of accessing and completely exploring this tortuous labyrinth, reaching possible residual hearths in the corners of the cellars. On the surface, the firefighters will begin a long work aimed at clearing the beams and consumed elements. The City of Metz provides a dumpster. The morning rain and the ambient humidity do not make the firefighters’ work easier. The frame of the building collapsed on the 4th floor, which became inaccessible. Six apartments on rue du Palais suffered the most damage, and remain out of use.
The bookstore Hisler is closed. The firefighters preserved the interior of the store as much as possible by covering the stalls and sheltering the computer equipment.
Belgium
