TESTIMONY. “It’s a terrible tragedy…” A house steeped in ravaged history in Toulouse
In the Chalets district of Toulouse, it’s emotion and amazement. A violent fire ravaged the top floor of a historic house that is very valuable to the residents of the neighborhood.
A piece of Toulouse’s heritage and history went up in smoke this Sunday morning. The Chalets district was plunged into the back and forth of emergency vehicles around 9:30 a.m. In the rue du commissaire Philippe, at number 20, a violent fire broke out on the top floor of this house meeting the codes Art Nouveau architecture. Firefighters battled the blaze all morning who started from the attic of this building. Two ladders and fire hoses were deployed to contain the fire. The roof was completely destroyed by the flames. Only embers remain from this last floor.
After research and exploration, there was no one at the time of this fire. So there are no injuries. But according to some local residents and neighbours, for a few months, this house steeped in history had been squatted.
In the neighborhood, it’s amazement and emotion. “It’s an absolute tragedy. The people of the neighborhood are very attached to this house, it’s a piece of history and that’s why we had violent planes to have it classified”, testifies Jean- Louis Ducassé, vice-president of the Chalets-Roquelaine neighborhood association.
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Toulouse: a violent fire breaks out in the attic of a house in the Chalets district
A house steeped in history
In reality, this house belonged to Commissioner Jean Philippe. The street was also renamed in 1947 in homage to this man who joined the Resistance during the Second World War. He notably participated in numerous rescues of Jews. Under the Vichy regime, he was asked as a commissioner by the authorities to draw up the list of Jews in the district for which he was responsible. Not wanting to comply with such an order, he resigned from his post and returned. in hiding. He will be shot a few months later. “It’s amazing and so sad to see this part of the history of Toulouse disappear in a cloud of smoke”, says, filled with sadness, the vice-president of the neighborhood association.
Impossible for the moment to know how to comment on the fire. An investigation has been opened to shed light on the reasons for this fire. It could be an electrical fault.