Marne: fire breaks out in a residence for seniors, around twenty injured

Two victims were in cardiopulmonary arrest at the time of their care. A fire broke out at the start of the afternoon in a residence for the elderly in Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne), reports France Bleu on Tuesday, reporting several wounded.

The incident, the origin of which is unknown at the moment, erupted on the third floor of the building. More than 80 firefighters were reportedly mobilized, as well as Samu teams. The police were also on site.

Images filmed by the local association of the Châlonnais Collective show the blackened facade of the building, from which thick smoke still escapes from an apartment, while a fire truck is parked at its foot.

🇨🇵 𝗖𝗵â𝗹𝗼𝗻𝘀-𝗲𝗻-𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗧. A major fire is underway in an apartment in the Bellevue retirement home, located in the La Bidée district. Rescue services are on site 👩‍🚒More info on https://bit.ly/3eJt5dT.𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶é 𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝟮 𝗷𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬𝗣𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲 Collectif Châlonnais.

"I came out of the foyer just behind, I was walking with my colleague and we saw smoke and fire," describes a young passer-by interviewed by the associative group, situating the scene around "2:30 pm".

"There were a lot of disabled people"

"We went up directly to help people, not really in the apartment but at least next to it," he says. There were a lot of handicapped people, they couldn't go down, they had to go near the fire to help them. "We tried to knock everywhere," adds his friend.

🇨🇵 𝗖𝗵â𝗹𝗼𝗻𝘀-𝗲𝗻-𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪. Young people from the Bidée district did not hesitate to intervene in the retirement home to help certain occupants evacuate the premises before the arrival of the firefighters. Bravo to the young people for their courage! 👏Learn more at https://bit.ly/3eJt5dT.𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶é 𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝟮 𝗷𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬𝗣𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲 Collectif Châlonnais.

Although the main focus of the fire was quickly extinguished, around 20 people were reportedly taken care of by the emergency services. Also according to France Bleu, several victims were in a state of absolute emergency, including two in cardiopulmonary arrest at the time of their care.