Twenty firefighters were deployed for a fire at the Corona Hotel, rue du Calvaire in Lourdes. A hard blow for the hotelier installed for a year.
“We were full in April. It’s not just about money. You have to keep the customers, it’s the same customers who come back. We don’t work with Booking or Expedia. We welcome pilgrims, dioceses, “worries Isakk Vathanon, boss of the hotel Corona, located rue du Calvaire, in Lourdes.A score of firefighters came to overcome the flames. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
Smoke is still rising from the ground floor of the five-storey facility, which was closed when a fire broke out Friday morning shortly before 9:30 a.m. After 10 am, once the fire is extinguished, the twenty firefighters are busy removing the debris from the affected room, which hosts the changing rooms and garbage cans. They extinguish what is still smouldering. The extinguishing of the fire lasted thirty minutes. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
A quick intervention, a fire quickly extinguished, but which did not prevent the hotel from suffering significant damage due to smoke. It was the boss who smelled a burning smell who raised the alarm. He says: “I was on the first floor where we have an apartment, with my mother. I smelled smoke. I went downstairs, saw the fire, gave a fire extinguisher and understood that it was not going to stop. I called the fire department.” The barracks of Lourdes, Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre and Ossun were dispatched to the site. Significant resources have been deployed. DDM – Gaëtane RohrA fright for the boss and his mother
The hotelier points to his wrist to signal the fear he had. “Especially my 63-year-old mother,” he adds. He does not know what home contractors could have caused these flames. The garbage had been taken out. While he is currently carrying out work, it was not in progress that day. In the room, were stored the carpet and wallpaper that had been removed from the rooms to redo them. Heavy smoke was still coming from the facility. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
“Where does it come from?” asks the man who, from the first hours of the war in Ukraine, had offered to welcome refugees. A question that the police, who went to the scene, will have to answer. Traces of the fire are visible. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
Around, the other hoteliers observe the scene. A little further down, a Ukrainian student staying at the nearby hotel, cup of coffee in hand, says: “Already last year, there was a fire in the hotel next door.” This is a blow for the hotelier. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
A hard blow for the hotelier who settled just over a year ago. The latter was still able to escape without damage with his mother from the establishment. The operations, led by Lieutenant Pierre Doucet, also prevented the flames from spreading to the adjoining rooms. There remains the question of origin… “I’m trying to understand,” the boss repeats. After extinguishing the flames, firefighters ventilated the scene and pulled out the rubble. DDM – Gaëtane Rohr
