After the fire in a holiday accommodation in Alsace with eleven dead, the public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation. There is a suspicion of negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm. The public prosecutor’s office in Paris announced on Friday that certain safety regulations may not have been complied with. First, the cause of the fire is determined. Because of the scope of the investigation and because the victims came from all over France, it is not the local authority that is dealing with the case, but a special unit in Paris.
On Wednesday morning around 6.30 a.m. there was a fire in the holiday accommodation in Wintzenheim, about 50 kilometers from Freiburg. At the time, two groups of people with mild intellectual disabilities were staying in the house. 17 people were able to save themselves, one of them was injured. Eleven people died. According to media reports, ten of the victims came from Lorraine in eastern France, and one victim came from Alsace.
Like the local newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace reported, there are several holiday accommodations on the site in the Wintzenheim district of La Forge. The former agricultural building that burned was rebuilt from 2017. There was accommodation on the ground floor and another with eight rooms on the upper floor, the newspaper reported, citing previous internet advertisements for the hostel, some of which can no longer be found. “So there were two shelters in the building that burned,” the newspaper said. According to the public prosecutor, a total of 28 people were accommodated there.
Investigators are currently assuming that there was a smoldering fire. The accommodation consists partly of half-timbering, it said. The wood probably only really caught fire after a few hours. About 300 square meters out of 500 burned.
French media reported on Thursday that the accommodation in Wintzenheim may not have had sufficient or the right fire alarms. According to the French authorities, establishments that receive guests are themselves responsible for complying with safety rules. This is verified by various controls. Wintzenheim Deputy Mayor Daniel Leroy said the building was still registered for agricultural purposes and should not have received guests.