How to recover after a fire? What really happens when the fire is out but the inhabitants are still there? So the fires are increasing this summer with the heat wave, France Bleu Occitanie went to Verniolle, in Ariège. This town of 2,300 inhabitants, near Pamiers, experienced a fire, which covered ten hectares, on July 18. Fortunately, there is no injuries, thanks to the many firefighters mobilized, from Ariège but also from Aude and Hérault. Six cars from an amateur garage and gardens, forests were affected. The fire probably started from a cigarette butt thrown by a motorist, since it started along the RN20 and even crossed it.
No more internet, no more phone
All the inhabitants of the district tell of their fear, the solidarity which was quickly organized on the spot, salute the hard work of the firefighters, and put things into perspective. “It’s just material, we’re fine”underlines Tony who lost six cars, whose carcasses are still visible in front of his garage.
Still, the ground is still a little dark in places, the landscape worthy of Mars and electric poles are lying on the ground. “The wires have fallen, they are jumbled up, we no longer have a telephone, no internet. Orange is lending us boxes but it’s a shame because each owner has had to take steps on his side, the supplier does not take a collective request; I had called to ask. It is regrettable and a pity, we are wasting time”, says Annie Bouby, the mayor of the town, still very moved by this event. For Audrey, mother of a baby a few months old whose house was spared, “without internet it’s annoying but it’s a lesser evil.”
We don’t have internet anymore but it’s a lesser evil – Audrey, resident of Verniolle, 35 years old
– Clemence Fulleda
Burnt smell
Everyone cleaned their garden, their wood, Audrey cleaned and filled the pool which was used for rescue. Some have contacted their insurance and are waiting. “We brought in a pruner to cut down the trees that were in danger of collapsing and we hope that the others will be able to leave,” says Stéphane (assumed name). As for the tomatoes that have ripened on the blackened ground “unfortunately they taste like soot and they have mildew on top of that. So we can’t eat them. The feet burned but maybe we could have saved them by watering them”, he said. If he no longer smells the smell of burning, it is nevertheless still present on the scene. “We left a few days after the fire because it was like Mordor” (place of the villain in The Lord of the Ringsnote), he says.
“I crush the ashes of my cigarette butts”
Stéphane, like other Verniollais, has also changed his habits, he says he is more cautious: “I smoke, I’ve never thrown a cigarette butt out the window but there clearly as soon as there is ash on the ground, I crush it. We had a barbecue, I was around to take a look” . He hopes to invite all his neighbors who helped him the day of the fire. “The mayor came, lots of neighbors, friends from across town.” And a former firefighter, who was passing by and who “drove” the ten people present, “to turn them into firefighters. I have his number I would like to invite him to eat, because without him the house would have burned down, it’s a miracle!”