Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Fire at St. Denis: five dead, a dilapidated building and an unknown origin – Liberation

The accidental fire Monday in a building of the Paul Eluard Street in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), obviously arouses sadness, but also anger and questions among locals and elected to the town. Involved, outdated equipment, including the electrical system, and number of malfunctions within the building.

Five tenants have died in the flames. Among them, a mother and her three children. Twelve people, including three firefighters, were seriously injured. The command of fire was impressed by “The intensity and speed of this fire,” reported Tuesday morning Stéphane Regardless, the deputy mayor (PCF) in charge of housing . “It’s deadliest since 2001 in Saint-Denis.”

“Electrical wires”

The people, themselves, s ‘question: the drama could it be avoided? Some link the state “unhealthy” of the building. Unsanitary “should have been declared long time,” tells a woman. “Several windows were broken, there was water and rats in basements. The stairs were wooden and very damaged, most tenants are deposited their old furniture. This is why the staircase was quickly collapsed, it has complicated the intervention of firefighters, says Marie-Sandrine, a former resident of the building, who said he moved there two years for this reason. I had made a request to the mayor’s declaration unsafe building, but I never received a response. “

Present the entire the morning, Stéphane Few attempts to temper the anger of the people. For him, the municipality has not been negligent . “According to figures from the Ministry of Housing, Saint-Denis is one of the most successful towns in the fight against unhealthy” he argued at a press conference .

But without being declared unsafe, the building was undeniably dilapidated. “Look electrical son who just come out next to the windows! Some residents were drying their clothes on their balcony which was super dangerous, “ is irritated Marie-Sandrine. That does not negate the Mayor Didier Paillard: “According to the building’s trustee, the grid was actually failing, he had already sent us a grant.” Application which had obviously failed. The elected official also stressed the “internal problems” to the building that may have contributed to the risk of fire. The condominium was “into receivership last few years, before returning to the normal system of ownership in 2015″ Other problems. Of the 17 apartments in the building, one of them was inhabited by squatters, the two businesses present in the building were behind schedule for the payment of certain charges and cellars harbored traffic.

If the obsolescence have favored the fire, the origin the accident remains unknown. The track seems accidental considered. A police source quoted by AFP, the hypothesis of a kitchen fire is preferred at this stage. The laboratory of the Paris firefighters could find any trace of fuel. The investigation was entrusted to the judicial police in Seine-Saint-Denis. The occupants of the building are housed temporarily at the hotel. A social and psychological support unit was set up

Rozenn Morgat

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