Fire Takes the Lives of 3 British Tourists

This past Saturday, an apartment building fire in the 1st arrondissement, on Rue des Innocents, took the lives of three British tourists who were staying at a their friend’s apartment. It’s thought that the fire was caused by a gas, but firemen are still investigating the origin of the fire. The majority of the apartment residents had been evacuated, including a daughter of one of the three women who perished in the fire. This was the news reported from Le Figaro newspaper, however a later UK report states that none of the three Southhampton victims were related.

Seeing this news item really shocked me because as you know, not so long ago, we had a fire in our own apartment building. (Fortunately, no one was hurt).

Many of the apartment houses in Paris use natural gas as the primary heating system. However, the buildings themselves are stone structures so you don’t hear often about major fires in the center of Paris. I feel great sadness for those three women that lost their lives in this fire - and in particular for the daughter who was spared her life - but not the agony of losing a parent.

One thing to keep in mind when you’re visiting France is to be well acquainted with the locks that lock you in - and may inhibit you from making a quick exit. This can be especially troublesome in ‘les provinces’ when you stay at small hotels that have a tendency to ‘lock you in for the night’.

In Beynac, we stayed at a lovely hotel with a great river view. In the morning, I decided to go for a before breakfast stroll - only to discover that I was locked in and there was no desk clerk in sight - anywhere.

If you are staying in a friend’s house or apartment, be sure to familiarize yourself with the key system - leave the keys on the inside of the front door lock - if you lock the door at night. Learn how to open the windows as well. Often French windows have either hand-cranked roll down shutters/ or electric. Knowing how to operate windows and door locks could save your life.

Unfortunately, most Parisian apartments do not have fire escapes. If any readers have any other good suggestions for getting out of a burning apartment (with only one staircase) please post your suggestions. On occasion, the apartment will have a little ledge at the base of the window - worst case scenario - if you can’t get down the steps, you could stand outside on the window ledge until the firemen can reach you.