At least 10 people died in a fire in an immigrant suburb of Lyon early on Friday, five of them children between the ages of three and 15.
The fire broke out on the ground floor of a seven-floor, 1960s apartment building at number 12 chemin des Barques at about 3am and swept up the stairwell. Neighbours told of women throwing children from balconies to save them.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The Lyon prosecutor Nicolas Jacquet issued a statement saying no possibility has been excluded, “in particular a criminal lead”.
Hélène Geoffroy, the Socialist mayor of the suburb, Vaulx-en-Velin, called the fire “a terrifying tragedy”.
Vaulx-en-Velin is typical of the dreary neighbourhoods of box-like high rises and parking lots on the outskirts of French cities. They are populated mainly by immigrants from former colonies in Africa and the Maghreb and their descendants.
“I heard people screaming, “Help, help! Help us!” Assed Belal, a 19-year-old resident told the Agence France Presse. “There were people on the ground, some trapped on their balconies and the fire department had a hard time intervening because the trees got in the way.”
Another inhabitant of the area, Murat Kara, waited at the local community centre to learn if his missing cousin was on the list of deceased people. Her husband had thrown himself from a second-floor balcony and was hospitalised with a broken arm.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised the “speed and heroism” of the fire department, which arrived within 12 minutes. Several of the 170 firefighters were among 19 injured people. When Mr Darmanin spoke, nine hours after the fire started, the bodies had not all been identified. Four people remained “between life and death”. Authorities sought housing for about 100 people rendered homeless by the fire.
The firefighters “were able to save 15 people, babies and children, at considerable risk to their own lives, climbing up the exterior of the building, all the way to the seventh floor,” Mr Darmanin said.
Families of the victims were emotional and angry, Mr Darmanin said. “They obviously brought up the fact that drugs were sold there.” An extra 30 policemen had been assigned to the neighbourhood this year, and 25 drug dealers had been arrested, as recently as “this very night”.
Neighbours said people came to buy drugs in the entry. Squatters left mattresses on the floor, and the front door remained open. A man called Mohamed who lived next door told France Info radio that there had already been three smaller fires.
“The conditions were ripe for disaster,” Souhil Zaidi, a 54-year-old estate agent told AFP. “This is the sort of building where people buy flats and rent them to people who cannot rent elsewhere. The tenants don’t attend building meetings, and everything falls apart. Nothing gets repaired. When you take the lift, you are scared.”
The city of Lyon confirmed in a statement that the building was on a list of “degraded” properties slated for renovation.
Rumours circulated in the crowd outside the gutted building. Some said a sofa or rubbish bin was set alight. Others spoke of a defective lamp or boiler.
Ten people died on February 5th, 2019, a fire in an apartment building in Paris’s 16th district. That fire was allegedly started by Essia B, an inhabitant of the building who argued with a neighbour, a fireman, earlier that evening. “Look me straight in the eyes,” Essia B told him. “You who like flames, see how you feel when it explodes.”
The woman had a history of mental illness but will nonetheless stand trial on criminal charges.
