A fire, which started in a room and quickly spread to the roof, caused serious damage in an accommodation and social reintegration center in Colmar (Haut-Rhin) on the night of January 17 to 18. The 19 residents who lived there were able to be evacuated, two of them were slightly injured.
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Around forty firefighters were mobilized during the night of Friday January 17 to Saturday January 18 to put out the fire which broke out around midnight in an integration home, rue de la Fecht, in Colmar (Haut-Rhin). The fire apparently started from the room of one of the residents, and quickly spread through the unfinished attic of the building. After several hours of intervention, he was under control in the morning.
The alarm went off, and thanks to the vigilance of the night watchman, who immediately notified the emergency services, the 19 residents present were able to be evacuated, some through the window, using the firefighters’ ladder. Two of them were taken to hospital for smoke intoxication.
The rest of the people staying in this accommodation and social reintegration center managed by the Espoir association were sheltered, partly in a youth hostel made available by the City.
-A temporary solution for the rest of the weekend, it will be necessary to find them more durable accommodation from Monday, the home, renovated in 2018, is uninhabitable due to the damage caused by the flames.
The home was ravaged by the flames, “a year of work will be necessary to rehabilitate it”, estimates the mayor of Colmar Eric Straumann.
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© Mickaël Martin/France TV
“A year of work will be necessary to rehabilitate it”estimates the mayor of Colmar, Eric Straumann, who also affirmed that the City services were on deck to find accommodation solutions.
The Colmar public prosecutor provided an update on the progress of the investigation this Saturday morning: while waiting for the fire expert to render his conclusions regarding the start of the fire, the occupant of the room from which he left for custody. It concerns a man in his sixties, present in the home for only a few days, and presenting a slight state of alcohol during the night, according to the prosecutor. His custody is expected to last 24 hours.
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