Near Toulouse, an arson attack destroys a pizzeria and damages a bakery
A pizzeria and a bakery were targeted by a fire in Tournefeuille, west of Toulouse, this Wednesday morning. The fire would be of criminal origin. Investigations are entrusted to the national police.
For Pascal, waking up is painful. His cell phone rang around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. “The police informed me that the roof of my pizzeria caught fire. I immediately took to the road”, testifies this forties, still stunned by the news. When he arrived on Chemin de Bordeneuve in Tournefeuille, west of Toulouse, the fire was already out. But the damage is considerable. The roof completely burned. This Wednesday afternoon, experts clear the debris to lay a tarp.
“We have to prevent the rain from getting inside my business. Already the intervention of the emergency services has reduced some additional damage, I don’t want to lose everything”, explains Pascal.
Unemployed workers
He stares at the two abandoned melted garbage cans three meters from his pizzeria. In all likelihood, the fire is criminal. On Tuesday night, one or more individuals allegedly started at least three fires in garbage containers, before rolling them towards the wall of commerce. The flames quickly reached the beams. Then they became competent from the roof of the pizzeria to that of an adjoining bakery. “A load-bearing wall seems in poor condition. I don’t know how we are going to organize ourselves,” breathes Pascal, who moved to Tournefeuille in 2011. Three of his employees were to be laid off. Other employees of the adjoining bakery may also be deprived of activity. The damage would exceed ten thousand euros.
Were the suspects targeting this pizzeria or did they randomly target him? “I’ve never had any trouble or threats. Everything is going well so far. The reviews on Google are very positive. To my knowledge, I have no enemies,” says the boss. The police officers of the departmental security are responsible for investigations by the Toulouse prosecutor’s office.