Arson blamed as new Paris fire kills 14

PARIS – Fourteen people, including two children, were killed and more than 30 injured in an apartment block fire in a southern Paris suburb early yesterday – the third fatal fire to hit the French capital in nine days.

The blaze broke out at around 1am in the hall of an 18-storey high-rise containing some 110 local authority flats at L’Hay-les-Roses near Orly airport. The casualties – including 13 who were seriously injured – were all caused by smoke inhalation.Police said the origin of the fire appeared to be criminal, and they played down any similarity with the fires on August 26 and 29 which killed 24 African immigrants in two dilapidated Paris squats.”This is a block of flats.It’s got nothing to do with the fires in the Paris squats,” said fire-service spokesman Michel Cros.Four people were being questioned by police yesterday morning though they were not believed to be suspects.Local residents said that vandals had been spotted setting light to letter-boxes on the ground floor of the high-rise.Low-level arson attacks on cars and property are a regular problem in run-down estates that surround many French cities.The blaze sent long flames licking up the outside of the building, while smoke billowed up the stairwell – fanned by the airflow as residents opened their doors in panic.On a hot night most windows were open.Rescue workers found victims in the stairwell at the very top of the building, while lower down residents were safe who stayed in their apartments and sealed their doors with material.Some 160 fire-fighters were dispatched to the scene, and the fire was brought under control after two hours.One young woman resident gave birth in an ambulance brought to the scene.Some 300 of the 800 residents were offered shelter in a nearby gymnasium or with friends, but the rest remained in their homes.- Nampa-AFPThe casualties – including 13 who were seriously injured – were all caused by smoke inhalation.Police said the origin of the fire appeared to be criminal, and they played down any similarity with the fires on August 26 and 29 which killed 24 African immigrants in two dilapidated Paris squats.”This is a block of flats.It’s got nothing to do with the fires in the Paris squats,” said fire-service spokesman Michel Cros.Four people were being questioned by police yesterday morning though they were not believed to be suspects.Local residents said that vandals had been spotted setting light to letter-boxes on the ground floor of the high-rise.Low-level arson attacks on cars and property are a regular problem in run-down estates that surround many French cities.The blaze sent long flames licking up the outside of the building, while smoke billowed up the stairwell – fanned by the airflow as residents opened their doors in panic.On a hot night most windows were open.Rescue workers found victims in the stairwell at the very top of the building, while lower down residents were safe who stayed in their apartments and sealed their doors with material.Some 160 fire-fighters were dispatched to the scene, and the fire was brought under control after two hours.One young woman resident gave birth in an ambulance brought to the scene.Some 300 of the 800 residents were offered shelter in a nearby gymnasium or with friends, but the rest remained in their homes.- Nampa-AFP