The fire broke out this Wednesday, December 11 shortly before 10 a.m., in this church located on Boulevard de Strasbourg.
A fire broke out this Wednesday, December 11 at the Church of Saints François, located at the corner of Boulevard de Strasbourg and Place Carnot, in the Saint-Roch station district in Montpellier.
The town hall services are in the process of evacuating the statue of the Virgin Mary, sculpted in marble and weighing 500 kg, from the religious building. She will be transported to the Saint-François d'Assise college located nearby.
Thanks to the drone and its thermal camera, we learned that the battens of the Saints-François church, under the roof, were on fire with temperatures between 108 and 160 degrees. #Montpellier pic.twitter.com/TvFaHT340S
— Midi Libre Montpellier (@MLMontpellier) https://twitter.com/MLMontpellier/status/1866795393792582105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A fire broke out in the Les Saints-François church, located on Boulevard de Strasbourg in Montpellier. Firefighters are on site with the large ladder pic.twitter.com/MWo42kjw4y
— Midi Libre Montpellier (@MLMontpellier) https://twitter.com/MLMontpellier/status/1866777404896944536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The priest alerted by a local resident
The fire started at the roof level, while waterproofing work was in progress, with welding carried out with a blowtorch. A resident of a nearby printing house alerted the parish priest, present in a room located opposite the scene of the disaster, with two other people. Smoke was visible from outside.
80 firefighters are mobilized on site. There are two fire groups, including two large pivoting ladders. A drone was also used. Around ten people were evacuated from the adjoining residence, rue des Aiguerelles. Traffic was closed on Boulevard de Strasbourg.
Concern for the church organ
The emergency services are working in particular to cut the zinc roof, under which there are wooden beams, in order to reach the source of the fire.
At this stage, the flames would be extinguished, but the interior of the place of worship would be filled with smoke. Books and equipment present in the room near the start of the fire were able to be evacuated. The fate of the church organ remains uncertain, as well as that of an imposing statue of the Virgin Mary, due to large quantities of water spilled.
The mayor and archbishop of Montpellier are expected to visit the site.
The Church of Saints Francis is a building with contemporary architecture, inaugurated in 1997.
