On 16 December 2022, a fire ravaged a residential building at 12 chemin des Barques in

Vaulx-en-Velin Vaulx-en-Velin () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is located to its northeast, on the river Rhône. History The rivers, including th ...

, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. It resulted in killing 10 people, including five children, and injured 14.

Fire

The fire broke out at around 3:00 a.m. on the first floor of a 7-story apartment building located at 12 chemin des Barques in the district of Mas-du-Taureau in Vaulx-en-Velin. The alert was given at 3:12 a.m. and the first members of the departmental-metropolitan fire and rescue service (SDMIS) arrive on the scene at three minutes later. A total of 170 firefighters and 65 fire engines were mobilized to put out the flames. Smoke reportedly caused many to become disoriented and unable to locate evacuation routes, forcing many to evacuate by ladders and exterior windows. Witnesses recalled residents smashing windows to try and climb out of the building and one mother who threw her child out of a window to be caught by a person on the ground. At 6:30 a.m. the prefecture of Rhône announced that the fire was extinguished.

Fatalities

Ten people, including five children, were killed by the blast. Fourteen people, including two firemen, were also injured. In a press conference, Darmanin said that the ages of the children who died ranged from 3 to 15 years and that all those who died or were seriously injured in the fire were in the building at the time it broke out.

Investigation

Although the causes of the fire remain initially unknown, the Minister of the Interior

Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of the Interior in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean Castex and Élisabeth Borne since 2020. A former member of The Republicans (L ...

confirmed, at 7:38 a.m., that there were several hypotheses relating to them. If it does not specify which ones,

Le Progrès ''Le Progrès'' is a regional daily newspaper which is based in Lyon, Rhône. ''Le Progrès'' reports primarily on local news in the Rhône-Alpes region. The paper has its headquarters in Lyon. The print works is in Chassieu, near Lyon. The fo ...

suggested that the fire was caused by either "a boiler problem or a garbage fire".

Aftermath

The provisional human toll being particularly heavy, the prefect of Rhône Pascal Mailhos announced the opening of a departmental operational center (COD) and the triggering of the number of victims plan. Counseling centers were set up at two local schools that were believed to have the majority of victims attending.

Response

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, announced that he would visit the site with France's housing minister while offering his condolences to the family and friends of the victims. Mailhos also went to the site with the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin and the public prosecutor of Lyon, joined later by the Minister Delegate for the City and Housing Olivier Klein and Darmanin.

French Prime Minister The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

Elisabeth Borne Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

and football team Olympique Lyonnais also issued statements offering their thoughts to those affected.

References