A tragedy in the middle of summer: on August 9, eleven people died in a fire in a gîte in Wintzenheim, in Haut-Rhin. The Minister of Solidarity and Families was the guest of “8h30 franceinfo” on Friday.
On August 9, eleven people died in a fire in a gîte in Wintzenheim, in the Haut-Rhin. These were ten people with mild mental disabilities who came on an adapted vacation as part of a stay organized by an association in Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), as well as a guide.
>> Wintzenheim fire: for the town hall, the gîte “had no legal existence”
An administrative investigation by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) was opened following the fire which caused the death of 11 people in Wintzenheim (Haut-Rhin), on August 9. Guest on franceinfo, Friday September 22, Aurore Bergé ensures that the administrative investigation “demonstrates” that there is “a general dysfunction“.
“What the Igas report demonstrates is that if we are very lucid and very honest, there is a general dysfunction (…) The tragedy of Wintzenheim has highlighted the way in which these holidays have not been not been sufficiently supervised, standardized and thought“, declared the Minister of Solidarity and Families on franceinfo.
Doubling of the staff responsible for verifying and issuing approvals
For the minister, “immediate measures are necessary”. Aurore Bergé will send a “instruction” has “all companies and associations which organize adapted holidays to inform them that it is unthinkable that they can organize them in places which do not respect the minimum standards in terms of safety and fire”. The minister pointed out the lack of control and “the decision chain” which caused the company in which ten people with disabilities to die and a facilitator “had provisional approval whereas just before, for two months, she had continued to organize stays even though she no longer had any approval”. In the event of lack of safety approval, “it is unthinkable that these stays could be organized”recalled the minister.
“We need to increase the workforce”also underlined Aurore Bergé. “I managed to double the number of people dedicated to verifying and issuing approvals. We are going to increase to 110 people, so more than one per department.”she congratulated herself.
“What we want is to have a society which is inclusive and which allows people with disabilities to live, like all French citizens”
“It is unthinkable that the security conditions that we have, when we go to a lodge or a hotel, are not respected for these people.”, defended the Minister of Solidarity and Families. An investigation into homicides and unintentional injuries aggravated by the violation of an obligation of safety or prudence has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office.