A fire broke out in the roof of the town hall in the 12th arrondissement of Paris very early on Monday, January 27. Firefighters have the fire under control, but they fear part of the building will collapse.
The town hall is burning. A violent fire broke out in the town hall of the 12th arrondissement of Paris on the night of Sunday January 26 to Monday January 27, around 3 a.m. It is more precisely in the spire of the town hall, 36 meters high, and above the main facade that the fire was located at 130 avenue Daumesnil.
Many firefighters went to the site during the night and there were 153 firefighters present on site shortly before 6 a.m., accompanied by three ladder trucks. After more than three hours of fighting the flames, firefighters managed to bring the fire under control shortly before 7 a.m., firefighters told AFP. The fire must now be extinguished, but the work of the firefighters could still take a long time.
“There are no victims”
The fire at the Parisian town hall caused “no casualties”, said the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, to BFMTV. If several people, in addition to the guard, were present, all were able to be evacuated. Arriving on site early this Monday morning, the prefect announced that the incident “turned out to be a roof fire”. The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and that of the 12th arrondissement Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie also visited the site. The firefighters therefore have no victims to evacuate, but according to Franceinfo several documents, including archives, were protected from the flames.
“It doesn’t mean much anymore”
Although the fire caused no casualties and is no longer progressing, the fire has considerably weakened the spire of the building which now threatens to collapse. “The beams are very blackened, it doesn’t matter much anymore,” confirmed a firefighter at BFMTV. The prefect of police also fears the possible fall of the spire: “The concern mainly concerns the spire of this town hall in the 12th, which threatens to collapse. Everything has been done to ensure that this is not the case. “
As a safety measure, a major security system has been put in place by the firefighters around the town hall of the 12th arrondissement. The area was also cordoned off, remaining accessible only to local residents.
The origin of the fire at the town hall of the 12th arrondissement is not yet known; an investigation must be opened to determine the causes of the fire. BFMTV specifies that renovation work has been underway for almost a year on the roof of the building, but that the spire was not affected by the restoration.
Latest updates
08:33 – The arrow still watered and monitored
With the fire under control and about to be extinguished, attention is focused mainly on the spire of the town hall of the 12th arrondissement of Paris, or rather the 36 meter high campanile. The firefighters are concentrating their efforts on the building which dominates the roof of the town hall, watering it regularly to prevent the fire from resuming. The Parisian reports that in addition to firefighters, architects are also present to assess the risks and consider the use of props to support the loads and avoid collapse. “Yes there is a risk of collapse, it will surely take several days for our security architects to assess all of this, with the Paris fire brigade,” confirmed the Paris police prefect on RTL.
08:24 – The flames extinguished or almost, embers resist
Firefighters brought the town hall fire under control by preventing the fire from spreading around 6 a.m. Since the flames have been extinguished for most of them, the fire is on the verge of being extinguished according to details from the Paris firefighters at BFMTV, but caution remains in order. If there are no more flames, there are still embers which must also be extinguished to avoid a new fire.
Paris: a violent fire broke out at the town hall of the 12th arrondissement, the spire of the building threatens to collapse pic.twitter.com/qFtuxl3dgc
— BFM Paris Île-de-France (@BFMParis) January 27, 2025