A few days before the Christmas holidays, this is news that Pierre Segura, president of the Francas de Pau association, which welcomes children for after-school activities and homework help, would have done well without. He was warned early in the morning of Saturday December 14 by the firefighters. One of the buildings occupied by the collective, the Daran childhood home, in Hédas, was hit by a fire. The roof of the premises was badly damaged. Information from our colleagues from the Republic of the Pyreneeswhich France Bleu Béarn Bigorre was able to confirm.
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“The damage has been observed, there is no more roof. The firefighters quickly covered up because it was raining inside“, explains Pierre Segura. The building is unusable “at least for several months while the insurance companies carry out assessments. It is a municipal building, so we are in contact with the town hall.“Obviously,”there is discouragement when we arrive on the scene. To say that we are dismayed is an understatement. It’s a real shock to see the charred wood and the rain entering the building.“, regrets the president of Francas.
According to the first elements reported to the Pau public prosecutor’s office, the fire is criminal. Someone set fire to a trash can near the building, and the flames spread to the adjacent Daran Housewithout the Francas being deliberately targeted. For the moment, no one has been arrested, and the prosecution indicates “have no leads”. An investigation is open to find out more, and the association plans to file a complaint this Monday.
Welcome at Christmas assured, it gets complicated for January
Now we have to figure out how to accommodate the children. 70 little ones were registered for the Christmas holidays. This Saturday, the supervisory staff had to put everything in place for the activities. “For Christmas we will be able to refer to the Gabard site, reception can be assured“, assures Pierre Segura, even if part of the educational material was destroyed.
For the future, however, it turns out to be more complicated. “For Wednesdays in January we will have to find other sites, but they must be approved by Youth and Sports. We need suitable places.” Children should be able to be welcomed at the Marancy school, or in the premises of the Gabard collegelike during Covid, but “this assumes that there are agreements, cohabitation and then moves“, indicates Pierre Segura who nevertheless remains hopeful that a solution will be found quickly.
