Last night, around 2:20 a.m., the fire started in the parking lot of the Roubaix central police station. It was police officers returning from intervention who noticed significant smoke in the garage. Firefighters quickly intervened on site to prevent the fire from spreading to the police station building.
A meeting is underway to quickly find replacement vehicles
According to Benoit Aristidou, Deputy Departmental Secretary of the SGP Police Unit for the North, the damage is still significant: “According to initial findings, around ten police vehicles were completely burned in the fire. Seven other vehicles were affected, we must see if they can be repaired. According to the first elements that I have in my possession , it should be complicated.”
According to this trade unionist, the fire could be of accidental origin according to the first elements: “According to the firefighters, the fire started at the back of the garage, near the room where all the seizures are stored. In this room, there are notably seized electric scooters, the fire could possibly come from an electric battery of a scooter.”
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Roman Porcon
A meeting is underway at the Roubaix police station to quickly find a solution to the lack of vehicles following this fire. The Unité SGP Police union is asking for loaner vehicles very quickly, Benoit Aristidou: “We are going to run out of vehicles this afternoon. We are going to ensure that there is a quick solution to carry out our missions. Especially with the weekend ahead of us and the legislative elections, we are preparing to being in law enforcement and the Olympic flame arrives at the beginning of July, it really doesn’t come at the right time.”
Moreover, the Roubaix police station, like other police stations in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, must provide police officers and vehicles this weekend to strengthen the teams in Paris in preparation for the Olympic Games. The deputy departmental secretary of the SGP Police Unit union wonders if the Roubaix police station will be able to send vehicles after this fire: “OVehicles were to be sent to Paris this weekend to support the Olympic Games. If we send vehicles, we will find ourselves with very few resources here.”
