Candles started ‘brief, fast’ fire that left 13 dead at French bar
PARIS — A fast-moving fire that appeared to be accidental swept through a birthday party in a basement bar in northwest France, killing at least 13 people and injuring six others, authorities said Saturday.
More than 80 firefighters battled the early Saturday blaze at the downtown Cuba Libre bar in the city of Rouen, Mayor Yvon Robert said, calling the fire “very brief.”
The birthday party was “a moment of joy for those involved that ... ended tragically,” Robert said.
Vice prosecutor Laurent Labadie said that the first testimonies from survivors and the early police investigation indicated the “fire was completely accidental.”
“Candles on a birthday cake started the fire after the person who carried it tripped on the stairs to the basement.” Labadie said.
It was still unclear how many people were at the party. Most of the dead were between 18 and 25. Of the six injured, one was reportedly in a life-threatening condition.
In a statement released by the French presidency, Francois Hollande expressed his “solidarity” with the victims’ families and vowed that the ongoing judicial investigation will shed light on the “the causes of this dramatic accident.”
Labadie said sound-insulating material on the basement’s walls quickly ignited and party guests had no time to escape from the basement.
At the scene of the fire, residents paid tribute to the victims by laying flowers.
The fire — the deadliest in France since 2005 — came as the country is on maximum terror alert after two deadly attacks last month and was also the second recent tragedy to hit Rouen, in Normandy. A priest was slain by two Islamic State extremists in his church outside Rouen on July 26 and his funeral was held last week in Rouen.
A bar owner identified as Bruno by French TV BFMTV who was close to the Cuba Libre when the fire broke out said customers were trapped inside because the fire moved too fast.