A holiday in Wintzenheim in Alsace has ended fatally for eleven people. They die in a fire at a vacation home. It has now become known that the holiday accommodation is not subject to “mandatory” security checks. In addition, she would have lacked the “properties” for receiving overnight guests.
In the municipality of Wintzenheim, a fire broke out in the holiday home on Wednesday morning and surprised the 28 residents in their sleep. For ten people with intellectual disabilities and one caretaker, every rescue came too late. Investigators are now investigating how the fire could have started and whether the accommodation met all hostel regulations.
The building was a renovated barn
The building that burned down is a former barn of about 500 square meters in the typical half-timbered style of the region, which was completely renovated and rebuilt a few years ago. According to initial findings, they had modern smoke detectors, but they weren’t sufficient for hostels, Kielwasser said. It is unclear at this time whether there were any fire extinguishers in the building. The actual cause of the fire is still unknown.
The owner of the shelter is in shock and has not been apprehended. She lives across the street and alerted the fire department. It was on the scene about fifteen minutes later, but rescue came too late for most of the residents who were not housed on the ground floor. They probably died of smoke inhalation, the head of the rescue operation, Philippe Hauwiller, said on Wednesday.
28 instead of the permitted 16 holiday guests
According to the mayor of Wintzenheim, there were 28 people in the accommodation when the fire broke out. Accordingly, the owner had signed a contract to accommodate only 16 overnight guests. According to Kielwasser, investigations are still underway to determine whether the maximum permitted number of homes has been reached.
25 year old jumped out the window
The holiday accommodation was organized by various organizations for the mentally handicapped. According to the president of an association called AEIM, which cares for people “mentally disabled”, only one of his organization’s five participants survived the devastating fire during the holiday home – by jumping out of a window.
Prime Minister at the scene of the accident (see also video above)
The 25-year-old was awakened by the sound of the flames and went downstairs, only to return to her room and see an “orange” wall. She clearly understood that it was “flames” and closed the door. That gave her “time to save herself,” said Renaud, who was able to speak to the 25-year-old personally.
Others ‘didn’t move in their bed’
The young woman tried in vain to wake the others, “but they didn’t get out of their beds,” Renaud said. Finally, she jumped out of the nearest window – and was caught by a resident who managed to save herself from the ground floor. She was initially in “extreme shock”, but has since recovered with the help of her family.
Source: Krone
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