Written by Arthur Deshayes et Quentin Bral
A violent fire left one dead and 37 injured this Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The fire broke out on the 6th floor of a 12-story building, located in Hauts de Rouen. A resident recounts the “nightmare” she experienced.
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Firefighters were called around 5:45 p.m. A fire violent, brutal, fast », declared in a 12-story building in Rouen (Seine-Maritime). First crucial data: there would be “ a lot of smoke in the upper floors.”
We must act quickly, and in numbers, for a dual simultaneous mission of rescue and extinction. 60 firefighters and 30 engines are deployed.
At 13 rue César Franck, in Hauts de Rouen, Catherine* sees black smoke on the top floor, where she lives with her husband. She warns her neighbors, they all start to go down the stairs.
The smoke is thick, the air unbreathable. Catherine loses sight of her husband. “ Where is he? » she asks a neighbor. Nobody knows. “ I came back up and saw that he was disappearing into the dark.” Catherine manages to pull him towards her, and begins the descent of the building again.
“We tried to run down the stairs to save our lives “. Catherine describes the distress affecting the 60 residents of the building. “ Everyone was scrambling, everyone was crying, some were falling down the stairs ».
On the 4th floor, finally, we breathe a little oxygen again. Then Catherine reaches the foot of the building and begins to shout: “ Fire! Save yourself! “. Dozens of residents quickly found refuge in a nearby supermarket, which opened its doors to help them.
60 firefighters intervened for a dual mission: to extinguish the fire and save the 60 residents of the building.
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© France 3 Normandy
The fire was quickly contained using two fire hoses. At the same time, firefighters and a SMUR medical team provide first aid.
Summary of the tragedy: 1 person died, the one who lived in the apartment where the fire broke out. We do not know more at this time about his identity.
59 people were at the victims’ grouping center. 29 of them were categorized as slightly injured, then evacuated to hospital centers in the Rouen area.
While some were able to return to their homes, several rehousing solutions had to be found for others. “ We have two apartments that belong to the City, and we will look at hotels and youth hostels », announced last night Kader Chekhemani, deputy mayor of Rouen in charge of town planning and public peace.
Following the “ trauma » that she experienced, Catherine plans to “ to relocate ». « Starting the year 2025 like this is difficult », she whispers.
The sub-prefect of Seine-Maritime, Clément Vivès, indicates that he is “ much too early to have reliable hypotheses » on the origin of the fire. The public prosecutor opened an investigation. Officers from the judicial police and the scientific police were on site yesterday to establish the causes of the tragedy.
