Three people lost their lives in a fire which broke out during the night from Monday to Tuesday, in a building in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.
On the night of Monday April 29 to Tuesday April 30, 2024, around 4 a.m., a fire broke out in a building on Boulevard des Italians, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. The 6th and 7th floors of the building would be affected. According to the first elements of the investigation, it could be a fire starting following a gas leak. “The fire apparently went up the back staircase” reports Le Parisien. Firefighters are still on site this Tuesday morning.
Thanks to the @PompiersParis for their nocturnal intervention against a fire after a gas leak in an old building at the start of Bd des Italians, where traffic will soon resume (avoid the area). Despite the rapid intervention, victims are unfortunately to be deplored. pic.twitter.com/4eDTNCXBjj
— Ariel Weil (@ArielWeilT) April 30, 2024
Three deaths and an absolute emergency
According to an initial report communicated by the district mayor, Ariel Weil, to Le Parisien, three people died. “A person is also in absolute emergency at Lariboisière hospital” specifies a police source at BFMTV. Three other people are in relative emergency, including two firefighters injured during their intervention.
The mayor of Paris Center indicated that traffic was still interrupted and the area should be avoided. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nunez, must go to the scene. The Paris Center Est police station is in charge of the investigations, indicated the prosecution.
“An old building with a burning stairwell”
According to the first elements of the investigation, it could be a fire starting following a gas leak. The fire apparently broke out on the ground floor before the gas spread to the upper floors. “The firefighters faced a complex fire, in an old building with a burning stairwell,” Ariel Weil explained to BFMTV. The three victims were trapped on the top floor of the building, inside a room.
“The stairwell leading to this room located on the top floor of the building was on fire. The firefighters were only able to access it later and discover these three people trapped with bars on the windows. The fire soldiers carried out rescues from the roofs” indicates the elected official. In the columns of Le Parisien, a witness specifies that there are “not many housing units in this building, mainly offices”. According to daily information, the victims were indeed in an apartment located in the attic.