A collapsed roof, fire hoses deployed, flames that emerge... In the town of Pierrefonds (Oise), a major fire is still in progress this Monday evening on the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, according to the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis) of the Oise. It triggered around 16 p.m. and has not yet been completely controlled.
The target of the flames? The café-restaurant du Commerce, an "emblematic" place of this small tourist town of Compiégnois. "It's an institution, I've always known it. But there are no injuries and this is the most important, explains the mayor of Pierrefonds, Florence Demouy. For the rest, we will stick together... The origin of the disaster is at this stage unknown. According to the gendarmerie, which has opened an investigation, the fire spread to the attic and the first floor. "The restaurant is totally destroyed because of the massive watering," says a gendarme.
"Fire can spread through the beams"
A security perimeter has been set up, blocking access to the city centre. "Everyone has been evacuated," says the mayor. Access will be prohibited until the flames have been controlled. "We have to be sure that there is no risk of spread to the surrounding homes. These are old houses, fire can spread through the beams. »
Very quickly, an accommodation solution was chosen by the elected representative for the inhabitants concerned. "If necessary, we have an intercommunal sports hall located in Couloisy, which is quite large and has sanitary facilities," she says. Will they have to sleep there tonight? I do not know yet, we follow the evolution of the work of the firefighters, we take stock with them every 30 minutes. »