Charente: A pile of ash and questions after a fatal fire in a gîte accommodating disabled adults

Four bodies were found in the rubble of a gîte in the village of Montmoreau on Monday, south of Angoulême. A fifth person remains missing. The owner died while trying to evacuate people with intellectual disabilities.

What remains after the tragedy that struck the town of Montmoreau, in South Charente, on the night of Sunday to Monday? A large pile of ash and unanswered questions. A fire broke out before dawn Monday morning in a large 700-square-meter building housing adults with intellectual disabilities. The smoke and flames caused the death of four people and probably a fifth, according to the Minister for Disability, Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq: "One person is still missing; there is a strong suspicion that they are under the rubble." The markings of the dogs of the canine investigation group leave little room for doubt.

The owner of the gîte was one of the five victims. The other four were disabled adults, "aged 20 to 75." Four injured people were evacuated to Angoulême hospital, including one who was in critical condition due to poisoning. His life was no longer in danger by the evening. Among the nine survivors were the owner's husband, four supervisors, and disabled adults. The latter were in Charente as part of an adapted vacation stay organized by the UFCV association . According to the minister, who visited the site urgently on Monday, these people with autistic disorders are housed the rest of the year in facilities in Haute-Vienne and Jura.

The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. Monday in this cottage located at Chez Gros Jean, on the heights of Montmoreau, in the Aignes-et-Puypéroux countryside. The old farmhouse is located in a hilly area, surrounded by woods, vineyards, and wheat fields. An ideal rural setting that could very well have been the setting for the film "A Little Something Extra." But tears drove out laughter. The smell of burning invaded the entire area.

A supervisor at the holiday home called emergency services and neighbors in the middle of the night. "The firefighters arrived quickly, twenty minutes after the alert. The death toll could have been higher," said Mayor Jean-Michel Bolvin. How can this tragedy be explained? Investigators are favoring the possibility of an accident. But the prosecutor's office and the Angoulême investigation unit are not ruling out any possibility: a short circuit, a cigarette, or malicious intent. An investigation has been opened for "involuntary manslaughter and unintentional injury to persons unknown."

The owner left because of the smoke. She went back into the burning building to evacuate residents. She never came out.

"The owners of the cottage have been welcoming people with disabilities for about twenty years," said a neighbor who paid tribute to the owner. "She left because of the smoke. Then she went back into the burning building to evacuate residents." Danielle Pothuaud never came out. "She was a woman who gave a lot. She was very sensitive, open. She had a kind heart," continued a friend who lives 200 meters from the isolated cottage. Minister Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq confirmed the story: "The supervisors did everything they could to save the vacationers." Despite these acts of bravery and the intervention of the firefighters, four or five people died, asphyxiated or burned.

Whose fault is it? The same question was asked almost two years ago to the day, during the fire at a gîte in Wintzenheim, in the Haut-Rhin region. On August 9, 2023, eleven people, including ten with intellectual disabilities, perished in the flames. This tragedy highlighted the organizational and control flaws in organized adapted vacations. History repeats itself. "The regulations need to be changed. We have been participating in working groups for two years. It is clear that the issue is at a standstill due to government instability," summarizes Sonia Ahéhéhinnou. The president of Unapei , who experienced the tragedy in Alsace, insists that "these adapted stays are essential for the well-being of the people in care."

Between grief and anger. A father from a local association for users with disabilities strongly challenged the minister and the mayor of Montmoreau, asking them to become more involved in monitoring buildings open to the public. "All our thoughts go out to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this tragedy," responded the UFCV organization organizing the stay yesterday. The survivors were taken care of by the emergency medical-psychological unit of the Samu and the France Victimes association. They must return home after this "absolute tragedy," in the words of Catherine Vautrin, the Minister of Solidarity and Families.