At 176 rue du Calvaire in Noyonthe main door of the building with its partially blackened facade, is propped in the open position in order to somewhat purify the still acrid air in the middle of Wednesday afternoon. The evening before, Tuesday January 14, a fire broke out there from an apartment on the 1st floor. A 6-year-old child died. His mother, 46 years old, in shock and slightly intoxicated, was hospitalized.
In the building with the front side pierced by two dark skylights open to the wind – the two windows of apartment number 3, where the drama took place – the tiles are covered with soot. In the hall, the label of a mailbox reveals the mother’s name: Hélène Gronier. His son’s name was Kenzo.
“It’s tragic, unimaginable”
The further up the building you go, the more the stairwell is covered in a thick layer of black from floor to ceiling. Less than 24 hours after the tragic fire, few neighbors were present. On the second floor, a young man opens. With a polite but saddened smile, he refuses to speak. A little further up in this modest-sized building, a woman half-opens her door. “I’m shocked,” she said immediately, “it’s tragic, unimaginable.” The tenant (the premises belong to Opac, a social landlord), was at home when the fire broke out. Since the last one, she “only realized the fire when (s)her smoke detector went off”. “We went to the balcony, the firefighters ordered us not to open the door, we waited here.” Once the disaster was contained, “they came to measure the air quality, they gave us the choice to stay or leave, I decided to stay like most of the residents,” she reports.
When it comes to discussing the terrible consequences of the fire, this neighbor’s voice sinks. “I didn’t know them much, I just saw her take her son to school for four years we’ve lived in the same building,” she reports. The whole neighborhood describes “a simple, very discreet woman”.
On the door of number 3, seals
When passing in front of the door of apartment 3, in the coming days she will not be able to miss the cardboard attached to the door frames with a red band bearing the “National Gendarmerie” logo. Seals which prohibit access to the premises to anyone. While waiting in particular for the arrival of experts mandated by the courts whose mission will be to determine the origin of the disaster, the first spark or the first flame.
In the buildings of similar construction that line Rue du Calvaire, the stories converge. There, a direct neighbor of 136 opens her window. “I was at home when I heard a lot of commotion, I looked outside, the firefighters asked us to close and stay at home.” “We didn’t know what was happening at that moment,” reports the woman who later discovered the difficult reality. “It’s a lack of understanding,” she says. How did this fire start? We’re waiting to know.” “It’s terrible,” adds a neighbor, “we say to ourselves that everything can happen so quickly.” “I heard that the poor lady had jumped from the first floor,” he added with a devastated expression, “but that she had not been able to take her son… We can’t imagine what that feels like.”
To alert emergency services, the mother had to jump from the balcony, as revealed by the Compiègne public prosecutor’s office this Wednesday afternoon. She was not able to take her child, who was inanimate, specifies the prosecutor.
“An unbearable ordeal”
In Noyon, the absolute tragedy of a mother who lost her son has fueled discussions since the morning.
On social networks, several elected officials wanted to send their thoughts to the victims. Like former mayor Patrick Deguise who expressed his “tremendous sadness” upon learning of “the tragic disappearance of this young child”. “As a father and grandfather, I cannot imagine the pain of his mother and his family,” he said on behalf of the Noyon opposition group Passionately before addressing “solidarity” and “support » to the relatives of the family “in this unbearable ordeal”. For the same group, David Bajeux also sent his “most sincere thoughts” to the family and those close to him. “In this moment of great pain, may the solidarity and support of all bring them some comfort,” he hoped. “Peace to your soul, little angel. My heart is heavy, words fail me,” commented Ouicem Gadacha, also an opposition advisor, in one of the many Facebook publications evoking the tragedy. The town of Noyon, or its elected officials, have not, to our knowledge and for the moment, reacted.
A few curious people in front of the 136
In front of 136, at the end of the day this Wednesday, a few cars occasionally pass in front of the building with the two gaping holes, roll down the windows, slow down and crane their heads to see the scene before leaving. In a few days, Opac, as soon as the green light is given by Justice, will come and clean the stairwells and collect bulky items resulting from the intervention of the firefighters. It will be Monday or Tuesday, estimates the housing office. There are already plans to retouch the facade. Gutters which suffered this Tuesday evening will also have to be repaired. Not to mention the apartment has become completely uninhabitable.
At the foot of the bereaved building, some torn construction ribbons remained this Wednesday evening – the remains of a security perimeter – and a small artificial Christmas tree, now quite insignificant. It will be removed by the time the mother returns. Supposing she decides to return to live in a place now filled with such terrible memories.
