A prisoner in his thirties was seriously burned in the fire in his cell on the night of Sunday to Monday, at the Baumettes penitentiary center in Marseille, we learned on Monday from concordant sources. The man, whose vital prognosis is engaged, was transported by the marine-firefighters to the Timone hospital. A second detainee who was in the cell above was slightly poisoned by the fumes and treated on the spot, say the marine firefighters.
The fire completely destroyed the 9m2 cell located in the regional medico-psychological support unit in which detainees suffering from psychological disorders are incarcerated, specifies the prison administration. The fire was put out by prison staff before the arrival of the firefighters, they said.
A new remand center with 740 places planned for 2025
Located in the southern districts of Marseille, the Baumettes penitentiary center, which notably hosted the sponsors of the “French Connection” and the last execution in France, is in the process of being rehabilitated.
In place of the historic stone building now destroyed, a new remand center with 740 places should be built by 2025 alongside a first extension of 1,182 places, “Baumettes 2”, opened in 2018. It is in this last building that the fire, the origin of which is not yet known, took place. As of August 1, 816 men and 106 women are imprisoned at Baumettes.