Firefighters work at the site of a fire which erupted at a holiday home for disabled people in Wintzenheim, eastern France. Pics/AFP
The deputy prosecutor of Colmar, said the first phase of the investigation shows that a mandatory safety inspection for such private accommodation facility had not been done
Speaking on French news broadcaster BFM TV, she said the fire started from the upper floor, but its cause has not been determined
The building in the Alsacian town of Wintzenheim was equipped to receive 28 people, including 12 on the ground floor and 16 on the upper floor, she added. It was equipped with smoke detectors, an official said
The disabled adults were on a vacation sponsored by two specialised associations. They were staying in the building, whose ground floor was made of stone and the upper part of the building was constructed of wood with heavy timbers in the traditional style of the region ¿ a factor that might partly explain why the fire spread so quickly
It was reportedly the deadliest fire in France since an August 2016 blaze that killed 14 people in a basement nightclub in the western city of Rouen
ADVERTISEMENT
