A fire broke out Wednesday evening, around 9 p.m. , at the prestigious Institution des Chartreux, located in the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon. Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services and the calm of the teams on site, no serious injuries were reported among the students.

A massive rescue operation

Faced with the scale of the flames affecting this two-hundred-year-old historic building, firefighters deployed considerable resources:

1. 75 firefighters mobilized.
2. 32 emergency vehicles .
3. 5 fire hoses activated simultaneously.

Around midnight, the prefect in charge of security, Antoine Guérin, specified that although the fire was contained, operations to fully control it were still underway.

Successful evacuation and human toll

The alert allowed for the evacuation of 150 boarders without any panic. The young people were immediately taken to safety in another building of the institution.

The report states:

1. Three people suffered minor smoke inhalation during the transfer.
2. A security guard was hospitalized after inhaling smoke while assisting with the evacuation.

The mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet, who was present at the scene, wanted to commend the "exemplary composure" of the educational staff.

The possibility of an electrical incident

The fire mainly affected the east wing, an area housing classrooms and part of the boarding school. Jean-Bernard Plessy, the school's director, emphasized the fragility of this 200-year-old heritage .

"Investigations will be conducted to determine the exact origin of the disaster," the prefecture stated, although management is currently favoring the hypothesis of an electrical short circuit .