August 24, 2013
GRENOBLE, France/Isere (AFP) - At least three people died in a fire at a French retirement home Friday and one resident was critically injured and placed on life support, police said.
The home in the southeastern town of La Terrasse, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Grenoble, had about 80 residents.
Police said the fire at the Les Solambres residence broke out in one of the residents' rooms but that the reason was still unknown.
About 100 fire fighters and police officers evacuated most of the residence which was being searched for possible other victims.
About 50 of the survivors were taken to a communal hall while the others who lived in a separate wing of the home were allowed to stay in their rooms.
The blaze is the worst in a French nursing home since 2011 when six people died and 13 others were injured in a similar incident in the southern port of Marseille.
