During the night from Monday to Tuesday, around 11:30 p.m., a fire broke out in a residential building in Longuenesse, near Saint-Omer, in Pas-de-Calais. According to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, the fire started in an apartment located on the 3rd floor of the building.
The human toll is heavy. A man died after jumping from the third floor to escape the flames. A pregnant woman was seriously injured after also throwing herself out of a window. Aged 28, according to AFP, she was rushed to the Lille hospital center. According to the Saint-Omer public prosecutor’s office, joined by 20 minuteshis vital prognosis is a priori no longer engaged.
Four police officers injured during the intervention
There were also other people in the building, who were evacuated by BAC police officers who quickly arrived on site. Four of them were slightly injured, poisoned by the fumes, as well as nine occupants of the building.
Around fifty firefighters and the deployment of several water hoses were necessary to put out the flames. According to the prefecture, the exact circumstances of the fire “are not yet known at this stage”. This same source specifies that “an investigation is underway under the authority of the public prosecutor at the Saint-Omer judicial court”. “We know that the fire started from the apartment on the 3rd floor but nothing yet on the causes apart from a few unverified rumors,” said the Saint-Omer prosecutor in 20 minutes.
More information to come on 20minutes.fr…/…