Eure: the Grand Château de Serquigny, dating from the 17th century, ravaged by a fire, the flames brought under control

2023-12-31 15:49:03

The “damage is significant”. The Grand Château de Serquigny (Eure), dating from the 17th century and “listed as a historic monument” was violently affected by flames this Sunday, indicates the Eure prefecture in a press release. The fire “started around 6:30 a.m.” this Sunday. This was “contained and brought under control” around 1 p.m. In total, 80 firefighters and “four fire engines” were mobilized to the disaster.

Despite the intervention of firefighters, the prefecture reported heavy damage. The roof of the castle is completely destroyed, while “the two facades and one of the wings could be partly preserved”. The prefecture indicates that a collapse of the latter remains “still possible”. Likewise, “two chimneys disappeared in the fire”. No casualties were reported.

A complex intervention

Still according to the Eure prefecture, the action of the firefighters was made more complex by the layout of the premises. The fire brigade vehicles could not cross “the access bridge to the castle which spans the moat”. So they “had to use only hand spears.”

The origin of the incident remains unknown at this time. According to the newspaper Paris-Normandy, the fire would have started on the floors of the north wing. “It’s a tragedy to lose this heritage. We could have imagined many projects in this large castle,” responded the mayor of Serquigny Frédéric Delamare to the local media.

The year 2023 ends badly with the fire at the Château de Serquigny.
A jewel of Norman heritage, it had been caught for several years in a legal imbroglio which had not allowed it to be restored, made safe and given a definitive destination. pic.twitter.com/08RHz9kaU7

— Eric Anceau (@Eric_Anceau) December 31, 2023

Reconnaissance at the scene of the tragedy will continue in a “thorough manner (…) to finalize the removal of doubt regarding the human toll”. The castle site is therefore prohibited from access and is secured by the national gendarmerie. A diversion has also been put in place.

The fire was also “the subject of a report to the Ministry of Culture”, in view of its registration as a historic monument. The prefecture concludes its press release by thanking “the firefighters and the police for their rapid and massive mobilization”.