“A life gone into the flames, taking their animals with them”: an outpouring of generosity after the fire in the house of two young people

A dramatic fire occurred late Sunday afternoon. A house and a car went up in smoke. They belonged to a young couple, Abélia and Bastien, who had settled on this land in Blanquefort-sur-Briolance, a small village in the north of Lot-et-Garonne on the edge of the Dordogne.

Everything happened very quickly. Eric Lacoste, Bastien’s father, says he accompanied his son hunting a few hours before the tragedy: “We were returning from an eventful wild boar hunt. We had to take dogs to the veterinarian.” The practitioner is based in Villenfranche-du-Périgord, just 15 kilometers from their home

After dropping off three dogs for treatment, Bastien returned home early in the afternoon, where he found his partner. One gray and cold Sunday in November, the two young people logically light the wood stove in their home. “At the end of the afternoon, they received a phone call to come pick up the dogs. Before leaving for Villefranche, they put wood in the stove” continues the father. This is where it all comes down to.

“Everything burned in half an hour”

Back at home with the dogs, they can only see the damage. “Everything burned in half an hour,” breathes Eric Lacoste. Abélia and Bastien are distraught. Because in addition to the house and the car being ravaged by the flames, their animals which were inside perished in this fire.

In this ordeal, they can count on the support of their families, their friends and also the community of AS Capelaine, the Lacapelle-Biron rugby club where Bastien plays. An online prize pool has been specially created to help them. “A life gone into the flames, taking their animals with them. Even if we know that it will never make up for the disappearance of their little loved ones, through this fund, we are appealing for your generosity to help them rebuild. This will allow them to buy the most urgent essentials and thus enable them to get through this ordeal with your support” wrote the couple’s friends at the launch of this fundraiser. Nearly 3,000 euros have already been raised. Solidarity is not an empty word in Haut-Agenais.