The clergy was delivering words of appeasement and recollection in the large church of Wintzenheim, Alsace, eastern France, on the evening of Wednesday, August 9. Father Albert Nouati looked for words to express the solidarity of a small Alsatian village on the outskirts of Colmar, following the loss that very morning of eleven people, mainly adults with learning difficulties, burnt alive in a fire in a lodge where they had come to spend a vacation accompanied by activity organizers. "We are here to stand together in this time of trial. Our silence is a cry," explained the parish priest during an ecumenical ceremony attended by several dozen local residents. Two pastors and a representative of the local Jewish community stood at his side.

The gendarmes and the justice system will have to understand the chain of circumstances that led to what Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called an "appalling tragedy." She visited the scene in the afternoon, accompanied by Aurore Bergé, the minister for solidarity and families.

Questions abound about what happened. First, about the fire itself: "For the time being, the origin appears to be a smoldering fire," said Colmar’s vice prosecutor, Nathalie Kielwasser, at the end of the day. The magistrate explained to Le Monde that she had no indication, at this stage, as to whether the fire was accidental or arson.

The fire was reported at around 6:30 am, and the fire department arrived 15 minutes later. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Philippe Hauwiller, the authorities mobilized 80 firefighters, four fire engines, four ambulances, an advanced medical post and three ladders, in an attempt to contain the blaze as quickly as possible.

However, video footage shot by neighbors shows that the old building, an 1870 farmhouse renovated a few years ago that housed 28 people in two lodges on two levels, caught fire extremely quickly, taking out the entire frame and roof. Witnesses reported that the top of the building was completely engulfed in flames as early as 7 am.

Residents and carers from Besançon, eastern France, on the first floor were able to escape in time. Most of the residents on the second floor, from Nancy, also in eastern France, were trapped in the flames. One young woman, aged 25, managed to escape by jumping out of a window.

"It’s a miracle: she heard a noise in the night, opened the door to her room, saw the flames, tried to wake the others and was able to jump from the second floor," said Denis Renaud, president of the organization Adultes et Enfants Inadaptés Mentaux (AEIM, Adults and Children with Mental Disabilities), five of whose year-round residents took part in the trip. The four other residents, aged between 20 and 50, died in the fire. "It was a miracle in a sea of sadness. We’re a parents’ association, so it’s as if I’d lost four members of my family," Renaud added.

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