This Wednesday, January 1, in the early morning, a fire broke out in a village hall in Vivier-au-Court (Ardennes). The 150 people who were celebrating the New Year had already left the premises.
The essentials of the day: our exclusive selection
Every day, our editorial team reserves the best regional news for you. A selection just for you, to stay in touch with your regions.
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you the newsletter “The essentials of the day: our exclusive selection”. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of this newsletter. Our privacy policy
The transition to the new year turned into a nightmare in one of the village halls of Vivier-au-Court, in the Ardennes, this Wednesday January 1st.
Around 7:15 a.m., firefighters had to go to the scene because of a fire that had broken out a few minutes earlier. The 150 guests of the New Year’s party had already left when the building caught fire, so there were no injuries to report: “The New Year’s Eve went very well, with great camaraderie. Every year, we’re used to doing it, with music and lots of atmosphere. We left very happy, around 5:30-6 a.m. “confides Sylvain, one of the organizers of the party. “And one hour, we were called and told that the room was on fire. At first, we thought it was a joke, we went there and realized that everything was on fire. I’m disgusted, under the shock, I don’t have the words. 2025 is off to a very bad start.”.
The emotion is all the more important since this village hall is very appreciated by the residents: “It’s a room full of history, many people got married here, they even held baptisms or communions. My father had several meals in this room”says Sylvain, with moist eyes.
The fire is currently extinguished: “When we arrived on the scene, we were confronted with a complete conflagration of the roof with a risk of propagation to the two adjacent buildings including the local school, the main objective was therefore to avoid the spread”. The firefighters must now treat the residual fires to prevent a resumption of fire and carry out a cleaning and stripping operation, to remove everything that has been burned.