France
Focus on safety precautions after deadly fire
Flowers at the entrance to the property where 11 people died in a fire on Wednesday. photo
© Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
One day after the deadly fire in Alsace, attention is focused on the safety precautions in the house. A mandatory check did not take place. It is unclear whether the regulations have been complied with.
After the fire in a holiday accommodation in Alsace with eleven dead, the question of sufficient safety precautions in the room. There was no mandatory visit to the hostel in Wintzenheim by a security commission, said Colmar’s Deputy Public Prosecutor, Nathalie Kielwasser, on Thursday. Among other things, fire protection should have been checked. It is not yet known whether the house complied with the regulations or not.
France’s assistant minister for people with disabilities, Fadila Khattabi, said that one should not speculate now and must let the judiciary do its job. “We owe the families the whole truth.”
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.
Half-timbered hostel
Initially, ten people with disabilities and one supervisor were missing. The broadcaster France Info reported that they were between 20 and 50 years old. The incident was the deadliest fire in France in seven years.
The public prosecutor assumed that there had been a smoldering fire. The accommodation consists partly of half-timbered houses. 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. French media reported on several accommodations. It was not clear if they were in the same house or in different houses. Leroy had assured on Wednesday: “We know this hostel. This accommodation worked very well and didn’t cause any problems.” Community officials saw the inside of the house. Everything was renovated and in “perfect condition”.
Flowers laid in memory of the victims
At the scene of the accident, Minister Khattabi emphasized that the families of the victims were now in shock. They did not address specific questions about the incident. The government official said those who worked with disabled people were also affected by the fire. “An entire sector has been hit, is in mourning today.” Local residents laid flowers near the shelter in memory of the victims.
The holiday guests in the house were looked after by two social organizations from the cities of Nancy and Besançon. According to the public prosecutor, the participants in the free time came from the French region of Grand Est. According to Minister Khattabi, two people from the tour group had chosen the accommodation. One of them had been there before and had such positive memories of the stay.
According to the president of the organization from Nancy, Denis Renaud, a young woman who took part in the camp was very lucky. She was able to save herself by jumping out of the window. It was like a double miracle. On the one hand, because the woman woke up, and on the other hand, because a person caught her below. The woman tried to alert others in the group and then jumped out of a survival reflex. Most of the survivors of the fire stayed on the ground floor of the shelter.