A strong smell of gas hung over Rue des Oiseaux, in Montceau, on Sunday morning. Just like a risk of explosion.
Called shortly before 9 a.m., eleven firefighters from Montceau went to the foot of a dilapidated building, located opposite the intersection with rue Jean-Bouveri.
Upon entering the building, they quickly found the origin of the leak: on the ground floor, the emergency services discovered three 13 kilo gas cylinders; two of them were open. Upstairs, they found a severed gas line.
“This building endangers the lives of others”
Rue des Oiseaux was, without delay, closed to traffic near the building. After a call to GRDF, the firefighters closed and removed the gas bottles and cut off the meter supplying the cut pipe. “We then carried out ventilation of the building,” indicates Lieutenant Mougin.
The mayor of Montceau-les-Mines, present on site, immediately issued an order prohibiting access to this building of 13 empty apartments.
“I will immediately call the owner of this building, unworthy, without tenants and probably squatted, to ask him to take the necessary measures to rehabilitate the whole. This building endangers the lives of others. We came very close to an explosion,” she said, upset.
The police, present on the scene, will have to carry out the investigation to determine why the gas bottles were opened and a pipe cut.
