Fire at a squat in Nice-Est: "At this stage, the origin of the fire cannot be determined"

There is little left of the old building of the Departmental Equipment Directorate (DDE), abandoned for more than 15 years, which went up in smoke on Sunday, September 7, on Place de la Brigue in Nice-Est.

The last hot spots were extinguished by firefighters on the morning of Monday, September 8. They took the opportunity to secure the area around the site by removing parts of the building that were threatening to collapse onto the roadway.

"It was a disused building, but apparently a squat, made of concrete and wood, approximately 500m2 on two levels," said Lieutenant Xavier D'Haussy, who assured that there were no casualties.

The origin of the fire remains unknown

"At this stage , the origin of the fire cannot be determined," the prosecutor's office said. However, according to initial information, it started on the side of Boulevard Jean-Baptiste Vérany, opposite the video surveillance camera, which is located on the Turin road side. The abandoned building, containing asbestos, had no electricity, according to city officials. Several cars parked on the side of the road were partially burned by the flames.

In the neighborhood, a persistent smell of burning plastic floats. A few curious onlookers observe the work of the firefighters, who have brought out the long ladder. Behind the ruins of the charred building, trains pass from time to time. "We saw people coming and going constantly," says a local resident. " Not young people from the neighborhood, more like undocumented immigrants." Marianne, who lives a block away, saw the smoke pass over her building. "It was very black, and it smelled very strong ," she says. "But that does n't surprise me, it was squatted, they must have set fire to it..."

An elderly gentleman, who lives in the Azalée building just across the street, suffered heatstroke when the flames burst forth. "The fire was very intense, we could feel it inside the building," his daughter said . His personal vehicle and his company vehicle—a small truck for shopping—were unfortunately parked in front of the building and partially melted. "We're in contact with the insurance company; it should be sorted out quickly," she said .

UDR MP Éric Ciotti, candidate for mayor of Nice, was present this Monday morning. He thanked the firefighters "who managed to contain a large fire started last night by squatters."

Asbestos in the air near schools?

Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, Green Party representative in Nice and head of the PS/PCF/Les Écologistes list for the Nice municipal elections, asked the mayor-candidate, Christian Estrosi, in an open letter "to suspend classes and implement health measures following the fire at an asbestos site near the René Arziari and Apollinaire schools."

"As you know, asbestos, when released into the air, constitutes a major danger to public health. The fibers, invisible to the naked eye, can be inhaled and cause, even at low doses, serious pathologies. The situation is all the more worrying since such a disaster necessarily leads to a potential dispersion of particles in the immediate environment," she adds.

The City of Nice files a complaint and "asks the prefect to act"

The City of Nice, for its part, has decided to file a complaint and is asking the State to take action to put an end to the squatting. "Following this event, which fortunately did not cause any casualties, the City of Nice immediately decided to file a complaint in order to understand the origin of this disaster, to shed full light on what happened, and to identify the person or persons responsible for this event," it wrote in a press release.

"This incident took place in a building that is regularly the site of squatting despite numerous interventions by the municipal police and the national police. Since 2023, the City of Nice had issued an order prohibiting access and municipal services had visited three times in recent days to ensure that no one was still on site. The City of Nice is therefore asking the prefect to take action and put an end to squatting in the city!"

Regarding nearby schools, "neither the prefect nor the ARS, whose responsibility it is, have expressed the slightest reservation about the opening of schools and the lives of residents," adds the municipality.

An investigation was opened on Sunday evening for destruction by fire entrusted to the local judicial police service and a fire expert requested.