Fire in Reims: at least four dead and one child missing after fire breaks out
Four people, including a child, died in a fire that broke out in a building in Reims around midnight on the night of Thursday to Friday, June 6. The "dramatic toll," according to Reims Mayor Arnaud Robinet, is still only provisional, according to the Marne prefecture. Among the dead are "a child found charred in his bed, a person who jumped out of a window, and two people in cardiorespiratory arrest," the mayor specified. They do not all belong to the same family.
The Reims fire also includes a child missing since the outbreak. Several people were injured, two seriously injured adults are in critical condition and have been taken to hospital, while twelve other people, both adults and children, suffered minor injuries. Around forty victims were taken into care by the Red Cross in a gymnasium provided by the municipality.
The fire was extinguished around 4:30 a.m. in the Reims building, but firefighters and law enforcement, still mobilized on site, continue to search for possible victims after the building was completely evacuated. "The firefighters were able to conduct a reconnaissance in all the apartments with the exception of one apartment located on the fourth floor in which the damage and debris are much more significant," the Marne prefecture announced in a press release published at 7 a.m. The prefecture listed the intervention of 15 SDIS vehicles and 62 firefighters, as well as 20 national police officers, 20 municipal police officers and 9 SMUR medical personnel. The first to intervene were the national police officers who were in this working-class neighborhood when the fire started, identified by a column of smoke.
The time has yet to be determined and the victims are being treated, according to the mayor of Reims, who told Franceinfo that the origin of the flames is still unknown. An investigation will shed light on the fire that affected an 11-story building, each containing four apartments. The fire started on the fourth floor and quickly spread to the upper floors. According to the mayor, the building that caught fire is located in a neighborhood undergoing renovation and is not dilapidated. "There is no question about the healthiness" of the building, Arnaud Robinet said.
L'Internaute
