Paris: spectacular fire at the town hall of the 12th arrondissement, the threatened belfry

The town hall of the 12th arrondissement of Paris was damaged by a spectacular fire which ignited its belfry about thirty meters in the night from Sunday to Monday, without making a victim.

“The town hall is bruised but the essential is saved”said the mayor of this southeast arrondissement of the capital, Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie, visibly moved.

The damage is “Circumscribed to the frame and the belfry” Who heads the building dating from the end of the 19th century, the elected ecologist said during a press point.

“The safest according to the Paris firefighters would be to deposit the belfry, which contains a bell, to avoid any risk of collapse”said Patrick Bloche, first deputy to the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.

“What is most stressful is whether it will last long enough before it is deposited then that a storm opinion is announced”added the elected official, stating that this removal would be provided by the state services.

In the evening, the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez said on BFMTV that the decision was taken to withdraw it.

“We are currently discussing with the city of Paris and the security architects of the police headquarters to withdraw this arrow and try to do it tomorrow and avoid a serious disaster” because she “Threat of collapsing either on the street side or on the town hall side”.

The four pillars of the belfry, 35 meters high, “Have not been affected”told the press on the spot Lieutenant Matthieu Lamouliatte.

The town hall roof was seriously damaged but the interior of the building is saved, and no victim is to be deplored.

The civil status registers – one of the most important in France in this arrondissement of 141,000 inhabitants – and works of art, in particular the furniture of the Boulle interior architecture school, were “Preserved, even water, thanks to the incredibly effective intervention of the firefighters who sheltered them”praised Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie.

The disaster who declared himself in the night and whose origin is still indeterminate, has mobilized significant resources.

“At this point, nothing suggests a voluntary fire”said the Paris prosecutor’s office requested by AFP, stressing that “Research on the causes of the fire will study in particular the conditions of safety of the repair of the roof, and the electrical device of the building”.

The work in progress does not concern the burned part of the building and “Cannot be the cause of the fire”nevertheless pointed Patrick Bloche.

“Emotion”

The fire was “Mastered” After a little more than three hours of intervention, a spokesperson for the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) told AFP, alerted around 03:20 fire.

Seven fire lances and ladders have been deployed.

“The fire has spread with the wind and everything is flooded because it continued to rain”testified at the beginning of the morning with AFP a local resident, which did not give his name, confident that he had been warned of the loss around 6:00 am and having been reassured to learn that the city hall – who lives on the spot – was “Safety”.

“What an emotion in front of the fire of the town hall of the 12th arrondissement which reminds us so much that of Notre-Dame de Paris”when the cathedral had been devoured by the flames in 2019 and its arrow had collapsed, reacted on X Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.

“It will probably take several days to assess all of this”said at the start of the morning on RTL M. Nuñez, who came on site alongside Anne Hidalgo.

The city of Paris has set up a “Crisis cell and a psychological cell”announced the socialist mayor.

The public services of the town hall of the 12th, which employs a hundred agents, are maintained and insured in the town hall of the 11th. The first deputy of the 12th arrondissement celebrated a marriage there in the early afternoon, said the mayor of the 11th, François Vauglin.