“We lost our whole life in this fire”: their house went up in smoke, a family's call for help in the heart of Hérault

La famille a été relogée en urgence et reçoit de nombreuses marques de soutien. – JM

After the fire in their house, a family was urgently rehoused until July 20. A call for generosity is launched by friends of the victims who are already looking for a new roof.

The fatigue is still there, the eyes tell of the insomnia that follows one another, the smell of burning is anchored in the minds. The emotion is palpable in this blended family from Salelles-du-Bosc."When my daughter asks me if she has anything left in the house, I am obliged to tell him no. It’s hard. We lost our entire lives in this fire. But we're still alive, we'll get there. We will succeed in finding a life", assures the determined mother.

Five days after the disaster which ravaged their house Anouck and Guillaume are still in shock. That damn night of June 22 to 23, around 4:30 a.m., the couple and their four children had to come out of their dreams, and their house, quickly, “in panties and a t-shirt. Then, under the effect of the heat, the bay windows of their home exploded.

Guillaume, the father who had fallen asleep on the sofa, was able to wake everyone up. Thanks to him, "we managed to get out, otherwise, we wouldn't be here anymore". Then the firefighters arrived, "they had incredible reflexes", greets Anouck who saw the firefighters save some personal belongings and prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring houses.

Solidarity is getting organized

"The first 24 hours, we were totally frozen by the situation", confides Anouck. "We were trying to treat the emergency like robots, it’was mechanical", continues Guillaume . In the torpor, solidarity was not long in coming.

The family, the mayor of Bosc who "was by our side at 5 am and continues to support us", the sappers, the school, the work colleagues. Without forgetting friends. Omnipresent, they took matters in hand, "they left us no choice", smiles Anouck from  her big blue eyes.

With the help of the town hall and the effort of the Relais du Salagou gîte in Salelles, the family was urgently rehoused, in a warm chalet, until July 20. Donations of clothing and food are pouring in. Close friends have launched an appeal for crowdfunding to support the couple and their four children. The youngest, Marius, is just a year old, he is starting to walk.

Every day, close friends fly by. "They come to bring us groceries. They put them down, tell us they love us and leave, says the mother. As a surprise of such benevolence, of a spontaneous impulse that warms the heart. "When in my life it was cold", sang Brassens.& nbsp;" In the world we live in, I didn't think this was still possible but it’s rather reassuring for our children. We really want them to see all this mutual help and our deep gratitude. It's thanks to all this support that we're still standing, we really want to say thank you to everyone, she insists.< /p>

Keep marks

Looking for new accommodation

On the terrace of the cottage, Guillaume is absorbed in the paperwork that needs to be dealt with, as quickly as possible. Time is ticking. It has already been five days since the house burned down. The parents scan the horizon. They will have to find another roof quickly. On July 20th they will have to leave. But where ? “I think we will never go back to this house”, Anouk says.

The search is on. Sallèles, le Bosc, will remain their refuge. As a matter of course: "The older ones go to college in Lodève. The little one is at school in Saint-Martin-du-Bosc. The children have already lost a lot. We really hope that they can keep their habits, their friends, their landmarks", the couple analyzes.

She doesn't know yet if her diary burned. But to evacuate the trauma, Anouk writes, a little. She writes well. Words that touch and accompany the appeal launched by Tatiana.”Just to say thank you”.”We always think that this happens to others, until the day when, from near or far, we are touched. Take care of yourself and the people you love, life hangs by a thread. It is necessary not to waste it. The six of us have experienced a more than traumatic event, but thanks to all of you, we keep our heads held high and the future scares us less. Thank you for existing, we hug you hard.”