Fire in the Aisne: what we know of the tragedy in which a mother and her seven children died

by time news

The record is appalling. A woman in her forties and her seven children, aged 2 to 14, died in the fire of their house in Charly-sur-Marne, in Aisne, on the night of Sunday to Monday .

The children, five girls and two boys, and their parents were on the second floor of this townhouse when the fire broke out, the gendarmerie said. Four of the children were from the mother’s first union, according to the same source.

The public prosecutor of Soissons, as well as the sub-prefect of Château-Thierry and the mayor of Charly-sur-Marne went to the site, confirms the prefecture in a press release.

The “a priori” family dryer in question

The father of this blended family, 40 years old, was transferred to the hospital of Château-Thierry, seriously burned. His vital prognosis is however not engaged, specified the sub-prefect Fatou Mano. It was a “first firefighter”, a neighbor, who intervened “individually”, who was able to “rescue him”, before the arrival of his colleagues.

“It is a priori a dryer that caught fire on the ground floor,” said the prosecutor, while an investigation was opened. According to the prosecutor’s account, he tried to intervene by going down to the ground floor, where the clothes dryer was, asking his family to take shelter on the second floor, a converted attic. However, “no hypothesis is ruled out”, according to a source familiar with the matter.

“The fire spread very quickly and the smoke rose upstairs fairly quickly,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Claude Ouguel, a member of the Aisne firefighters. Rescuers tried to resuscitate the eight victims, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

80 firefighters mobilized

Alerted shortly before 1 a.m., the Aisne firefighters then launched a large-scale operation. This mobilized “very many means, 48 ​​vehicles including two large scales” to intervene in this detached house.

In total, around 80 firefighters from 16 rescue centers had to take turns to put out the flames. Rescue services from Seine-et-Marne, a border department of the town, were also called to help their colleagues, specifies the prefecture.

Two people relocated

The fire caused damage to a neighboring dwelling, requiring the relocation of two people. “It was very hard, it’s an untold drama. This morning from 9 a.m., a psychological cell in the town hall will be able to welcome all those who feel the need, ”said the mayor of the town, Patricia Planson, to the daily L’Union.

Listening cells have been set up for nursery and elementary schools, as well as the college where the children were educated, said Catherine Albaric-Delpech, academic director of Aisne. “In Charly-sur-Marne, a tragic fire caused the death of seven children and their mother. The Nation shares the shock and pain of their families and loved ones. Thank you to the firefighters and the rescuers mobilized, ”tweeted Emmanuel Macron in the afternoon.

The last similar drama dates back to the night of December 15 to 16, with the death of six people, including four children, in the fire of a seven-storey condominium located in a popular district undergoing urban renewal in Vaulx-en-Velin. .

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