Only charred beams still serve as the roof of the building.
The fire which broke out on Friday in Therdonne, in the urban area of Beauvais (Oise), ravaged the multipurpose room and an adjoining technical services room.
A drama on the scale of the village where the structure served as a living space in the small town of a thousand inhabitants.
According to the municipality, which was quick to react, there is no need to procrastinate on the circumstances of the fire: it is an arsonist who is in question.
However, if the criminal thesis remains studied, the authorities call for more caution in the words of elected officials.
" The truth is quite different "
It is Friday in the early morning that the mayor, Martial Duflot is warned.
Twenty firefighters are trying to contain the fire that spread to the two municipal buildings.
Quickly, the roofs are destroyed.
After the panic, comes the time for questions about the causes of this fire.
At first, the track of the lightning is evoked.
That morning, many points of impact were indeed identified on this part of the Oise after a stormy late night.
But in a word published on its Facebook page, the municipality does not go there by four paths.
The roof of a technical services room also went up in smoke.
“Many of you are wondering about what happened this morning, start the elected officials.
Early in the morning, we thought of a fire caused by lightning, but the truth is quite different.
An arsonist set fire to a garbage can for the first time during the night near the bus stop, and started again a few hours later in front of the village hall where everything needed to organize the party was stored. of the evening.
“Because this Friday evening was to be held the Music Festival in the multipurpose room, almost ready for the event.
An open online kitty
Among the gendarmes of Beauvaisis, where no track is excluded, the criminal track is indeed considered.
"But to say that there is an arsonist prowling, we must remain cautious and not say anything while the investigation is just beginning," recalls a soldier.
The Beauvais prosecution confirms for its part that "the criminal thesis is at this stage privileged" and that an investigation has been opened for "willful destruction of the property of others by dangerous means".
For the town hall, one thing is certain, “the town will have to do without a village hall for a long period which will be counted in months or years.
The mayor has already launched an online kitty in order to be able to repair the damage as quickly as possible.