“A real risk of collapse”

“This fire is a tragedy for all of Valençay…” At the market held in the very centre of the town on Tuesday 2nd July, all eyes were on the vast building whose roof had completely disappeared following the fire which ravaged it the day before in the early afternoon. “It’s one of the liveliest places in the city, notes this resident. There, we no longer have a supermarket, the kebab shop is not about to reopen and the bakery is also closed.

Claude Doucet, the town’s mayor, was present when firefighters tried by all means to channel the fire that started in the roof above the supermarket: “This fire comes a year after the one that completely destroyed a bakery, also in the city center. Potentially, that means four fewer businesses… Of course, there are no injuries and that is the main thing, but we cannot leave this as it is: a huge gable is now threatening to fall onto Rue de la République, which will remain closed, and I am going to issue a danger order.” This will promote and accelerate the securing of the place.

In the meantime, the firefighters are still in charge of this matter. Twenty-four hours after the incident, they were still on site: “There are always fumes rising from the rubble, comments Yannick Thévenet, the head of the Valençay center. We are here to prevent the fire from starting again. The problem is that we cannot go inside to see, because there is a real risk of collapse. We will have images, via a drone, which will tell us whether we need to water or not. The ideal, of course, would have been for it to rain. We will remain vigilant until we are sure that everything is over.

“Our window panes were burning,” said a neighbor.

The day after the fire, there is still shock on the faces of the residents, whether they are in the market or living opposite the burnt building: “We were behind, in our yard, when we heard the firefighters, explains this neighbor. We saw the flames spread from one roof to another, and the panes of our windows were burning… Fear? Yes, when the first gas bottle exploded.” Three others, which were stored near the supermarket, suffered the same fate.

“It was really impressive, that noise, says Marie, who was 100 m away, blocked by the security perimeter. I think I will remember this for a long time.” Like many people from Valenciennes, who will now wait to turn the page.

For this, the site will have to be secured quickly. Then we will have to talk about reopening the bakery, first. For the kebab and the mini-market, “It might take years, deplores the owner of the building, also still on the scene the day after the tragedy. We will wait for the experts, then the insurance companies.” Valençay is beginning to heal his wounds, but the road will be long.