Jacky is a firefighter in Sambreville. And in the night from Sunday to Saturday, while he was not working, he was awakened around 1:30 am by an alarm. In the rue du Pré Barré, just next to his home in Acoz, he saw smoke rising from his neighbor’s house. An 84-year-old lady lives there, alone.
“When I saw the smoke, of course I immediately understood”he says. “I quickly went to find her, and I tried to tell her that we had to get out. But despite the alarm she did not see the fire, in the attic, and refused to leave the house. I finished by forcing him, and we waited for the firefighters together.”
And he did well to act: when his colleagues from Marcinelle arrived, the roof was completely on fire. “We’re doing what we can…but this is the first time I’ve helped someone out of a burning house outside of work hours.”
A “complete departure” had been sent, with two tanks, a large ladder, a pumper and a command vehicle, under the orders of Lieutenant Leroy and Sergeant Baudaux. It took nearly 20 minutes for firefighters to put out the fire, the house is unfortunately completely destroyed.
Several teams from the local Germinalt police made the trip, while the rescuers took care of the 84-year-old resident. The causes of the fire are unknown at this time.