Three people were hospitalized, including one in absolute emergency, after a fire in a retirement home in the town of La Ricamarie, near Saint-Étienne.
A human tragedy narrowly avoided thanks to the rapid intervention of the firefighters. A fire broke out overnight from Saturday to Sunday in a residence for the elderly in La Ricamarie (Loire), requiring the care of the 64 occupants, one of whom is in absolute emergency, AFP learned from concurring sources.
The triggering of the alarm, around 4 a.m., enabled around forty firefighters to intervene as quickly as possible to put out the accidental fire.
A victim in absolute emergency
The origin of the disaster seems to be due to an electric meter on the top floor of the building, a police source told AFP.
Among the three people hospitalized, one was transported in absolute emergency. She was found unconscious in her smoky apartment. The occupants evacuated from the La Récamière residence, located in La Ricamarie, near Saint-Étienne, were being relocated on Sunday morning by their families, by the Regional Health Agency or the departmental council, according to the Loire prefecture. She specifies that the Red Cross and the Order of Malta were mobilized to transport them.
