A 73-year-old homeless man died following a shed fire this Sunday, December 29, in Le Cannet (Alpes-Maritimes).
A fire ravaged a shed in Le Cannet this Sunday, December 29, killing one person. The victim, a 73-year-old homeless man named Ahmed, was well known in the neighborhood.
The events took place near a shelter for homeless people, in the north of the town. When the firefighters intervened, the victim was already lifeless, his body being charred. An investigation has been opened.
“He gave everything else to his dogs”
In his makeshift accommodation, made of sheet metal, Ahmed only had a simple saucepan to heat himself with charcoal. The man could nevertheless count on the solidarity of the residents and volunteers of the neighboring residence.
“The first time I met Ahmed, I offered to go buy him a chicken, he cried and told me that it had been five years since he had eaten meat,” he recalls. microphone of BFM Nice Côte d'Azur, Lara Sarpong, president of the Being Human association Ahmed ate one leg of the chicken, he gave everything else to his dogs.
Back on site, Lara Sarpong remembers a place “always clean” despite extremely precarious conditions. A situation that she has continued to warn about since they met.
“It's very hard to see that because he didn't have much but still he had a small bed, a small table, a small wardrobe. There, to see that there is nothing left of the everything… There was a tent then an overtent that we had set up for the dogs.”
An action in tribute to Ahmed this Friday
For the residents of the residence, this tragedy brings back memories. “He would come and take 3.4 bottles of water, the friend would give the coffee and he would go down to the shed,” recalls Ababsa Zerroug, a resident of the residence, who had known Ahmed for around thirty years.
“The only thing he has is dogs that he helps feed, they were happy with him. Yesterday when the shed decided to burn, these dogs were like babies, they were crying,” says Mostefa Benmoussa, resident of the residence who had known Ahmed for 20 years.
Ahmed was unable to access decent housing because he refused to abandon his two dogs, which he raised for 14 years. Dogs who today find themselves without an owner and which associations are trying to recover.
On Facebook, Lara Sarpong says she is doing “everything possible to try to gain their trust so that they are taken care of by an association specializing in old dogs and dogs with complicated situations which is located in St Vallier”. To pay tribute to Ahmed, a rose will be placed on the field this Friday, January 3.
Gaël Camba with Arthus Vaillant
