Deadly Fire in Reims: At Least Four Dead, One Child Missing, Several Injured

At least four people, including a child, died in a fire that broke out overnight from Thursday to Friday, June 6, in an apartment building in the Croix-Rouge district in the southwest of Reims. The provisional toll was reported by local authorities. One other child is missing, two adults were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and about a dozen others — both adults and children — suffered more minor injuries.

The blaze started around 12:30 a.m. on the fourth floor of an 11-story residential tower with four apartments per floor. The fire quickly spread to the upper levels, particularly via the building’s façade. According to the prefecture, the cause of the fire remains unknown at this stage. An investigation is underway.

Major Emergency Response Deployed

The fire, now extinguished, prompted a large-scale emergency response: 62 firefighters, 15 fire service vehicles, 20 national police officers, 20 municipal police officers, and nine paramedics from the emergency medical services (SMUR) were mobilized. At dawn, many emergency vehicles were still on site. Several windows were blackened across three floors, with lighter damage visible on two additional levels.

Around 40 displaced residents were taken in by the Red Cross at a local gymnasium provided by the city. Labour and Health Minister Catherine Vautrin expressed her support to the victims and praised emergency teams in a post on social media platform X.

“A Tragic Toll,” Says the Mayor

Reims mayor Arnaud Robinet, who was present at the scene, described the situation as “tragic” and spoke of “a great deal of shock.” He confirmed that the four victims did not belong to the same family. Among them were “a child found burned in their bed, one person who jumped from a window, and two in cardiac arrest.”

The mayor also commended the courage of national police officers who were already in the neighborhood at the time of the incident and were the first to respond, helping to evacuate residents “with tremendous bravery.”