firefighters saluted after the violent fire which ravaged a building in Bordeaux

The fire broke out this Saturday, January 18, around 6 a.m., in an old two-story building in the center of Bordeaux. Although no serious injuries were reported, the spectacular operation provoked strong reactions among the people of Bordeaux.

Flames that rise into the sky. This Saturday, January 18, the residents of rue Lafaurie de Monbadon, in Bordeaux, woke up to an impressive fire. The fire broke out at 6:12 a.m. in a three-story building, located at number 33. On the ground floor there were empty premises. Two occupied apartments, intended for short-term rental, of 80 m² each, were located respectively on the second and third floors of the building.

The flames also spread to the roof of a neighboring building. They were quickly brought under control and extinguished by firefighters who covered the area.

On the scene, 30 people were evacuated in a spectacular firefighter operation. Eleven of them were in fact taken out of two burning apartments by ladders installed by the Gironde firefighters. They were temporarily hosted at Connemara, a bar located near the disaster.

Quickly on the scene, 70 firefighters and dozens of trucks managed to extinguish the fire in three hours using six fire hoses. Around 10 a.m., the fire was contained. It was declared extinguished at 4:30 p.m. Among the occupants of the building, two men aged 20 and 21 were transported in a relative emergency to the Pellegrin hospital center and the Saint-André hospital, disturbed by smoke.

On the scene, a security perimeter was set up, both for the residents, but also for the many curious people, who were wondering about the corridor of fire trucks which had been set up in this small street, very close from Place Pey-Berland. “It’s really awful, says a thirty-year-old. There is no death?”

At the end of the morning, firefighters carry out operations to secure and check the stability of the building structure. Supported by the architects commissioned by the Bordeaux town hall, they determined that there was no danger concerning the building.

Some people wonder about the origin of the fire. “Could it come from a meter? Or a person who has a faulty heating?”, asks a Bordeaux resident, without obtaining an answer. An investigation was entrusted to the Gironde police to answer this question.

On social networks, many Internet users thanked the firefighters for their work. “Luckily they are there for everyone”, “you are doing an extraordinary job”, they greet.

Jean-Luc Gleyze, president of the Gironde department and president of the departmental Sdis, welcomed the “miracle” carried out by the Gironde firefighters, “in perilous conditions in the heart of old Bordeaux”.

“Some of the recently acquired equipment made it possible to ensure difficult access to people in danger, and to guarantee the safety of our teams, he indicated in a publication. Thank you to the CTA CODIS, to the Ornano barracks, and to all those who made this assessment possible today: only two minor injuries.”

In the top floor apartment, the eight occupants, all from Bordeaux, returned home. The three occupants of the first floor were rehoused by the town hall. A resident of number 35 was also relocated, his electricity having been cut off by the firefighters for the intervention.