The explosion and fire in a Paris building caused the death of three people on the night of Sunday April 7. An investigation was opened to establish the origin of the tragedy so other detonations would have preceded the incident
An explosion followed by a fire. The tragedy occurred in a building in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, at 146 rue de Charonne, on the night of Sunday April 7. The fire started in an apartment located on the seventh floor of a building with eight floors, shortly after 8 p.m. Before the flames devoured the building, an explosion rang out according to several local residents’ testimonies to the media.
Despite the evacuation of residents of the building and occupants of neighboring homes, the tragedy left three people dead. Two people were unable to escape the flames and were found in an apartment. The third victim, believed to be the occupant of the home where the fire started, died while trying to escape through the window. After trying to reach a neighboring apartment via the facade, the man ran out of the window. The fire was brought under control and extinguished in the evening thanks to the mobilization of 66 firefighters and 17 engines.
The origin of the explosion is still unknown. Luc Lebon, the deputy mayor of the 11th arrondissement of Paris, partly ruled out gas on the evening of April 7, as franceinfo notes: “It’s not city gas because the building doesn’t doesn’t have one. It may be a city canister as some police officers suspect. It’s not at all substantiated at this stage.” The president of the condominium trustee is of the same opinion as the elected official, as he informed Le Parisien: “There is no gas in the building which was renovated two years ago.” According to him, the building dating from the 1970s “is perfectly maintained” and cannot have been the victim of a gas leak. But law enforcement continues to consider this avenue.
For several residents, gas seems to be the cause of the tragedy. “We’re all on electricity. The explosion was significant with the windows shattering, so I think it was a gas explosion. It’s not electricity that can cause such damage.” estimated an occupant of the 1st floor in the Ile-de-France newspaper. But for others, the explosion could be due to a household appliance or electricity: “For me it can’t be gas. The explosion that occurred in the evening was a small boom, like a TV that exploded.”
To understand how the explosion could have taken place, a criminal investigation was opened for “destruction by fire or dangerous means” and “involuntary homicide” and entrusted to investigators from the 2nd judicial police district of the capital. Some gray areas must be clarified by investigators, in particular explosion noises heard several hours before the fire according to testimonies from local residents. There were two explosions during the day of April 7 according to a witness heard by Le Parisien to whom a police source confirmed a first explosion recorded around 1 p.m. However, the origin of its detonations is not specified.
The occupants of neighboring buildings were able to return to their homes from 11:30 p.m. on Sunday evening. As for the residents of the building affected by the explosion, they “should be able to return to their apartments” indicated Nour Durand-Raucher, Paris advisor responsible for security in the 11th arrondissement” to Le Parisien around 10 p.m. “We will organize, if necessary, shelter for the occupants of the 7th floor” he added. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidaldo, sent “to the families and loved ones of the victims all of [her] condolences and [kept] to assure them of total support of the municipality which stands by their side” in a message sent to AFP