an apartment destroyed by fire in the city center

Thursday November 7, 2024, around 8:45 a.m., firefighters deployed significant emergency resources in the city center of Châtellerault to fight an apartment fire on the second floor of 18, rue des Mignons.

When they arrived, flames were escaping from the window of the home and a plume of smoke was visible several hundred meters away.

According to initial information, the apartment, occupied by a tenant, was empty at the time of the events. The accommodation is located in a large block of buildings along Boulevard Blossac.

Under the gaze of many passers-by, teams from the municipal police and the national police set up a security perimeter around the fire.

Around forty firefighters

Around forty firefighters were on site, including two large-scale vehicles. The apartment is destroyed, as is the access staircase. The building was renovated a few years ago.

At 10:30 a.m., Commander Agnès Hubert, head of the Châtellerault rescue center, declared that “the main fireplace was quickly extinguished” but what “a difficulty remains” : “There is a proven risk of spread in the attic, which is common with other apartments on rue des Limousins. It is a long-term operation which is undertaken to secure the premises. There were no casualties in the apartment where the fire broke out. We have to check that there are no victims elsewhere around. »

Three businesses closed

The employees of the Amaro bakery, who had initially evacuated their premises for safety, were able to return to their workstation.

The three businesses closest to the fire, the “B comme” shop, the Ararat kebab shop and the Couvrat Caillé jewelry store, which were closed at the time of the incident, will remain closed (at a minimum) until the end of the firefighter intervention. .

An investigation was opened by the police to determine the circumstances of the fire.