“I saw the bell tower fall, I was in front, it’s weird, I’m in shock. There were a lot of people. For me, it was the symbol of our commune”, laments Mathis Perard, a resident of the village of Drosnay in the Marnen, with France 3 regions. At the end of the morning, Friday July 7, the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church was ravaged by a fire. The fire started around 11:30 a.m. in the small timber-framed church, listed as a Historic Monument. Fortunately, the incident caused no casualties.
The mayor of the town, Emmanuel Le Roy watched helplessly as the building burned and the 41 firefighters equipped with 11 devices fought to extinguish the flames. “It’s not even that there is a fire, there is no longer a church in fact,” laments the city councilor. Securing the premises was not an easy task, according to France 3 regions. “The roof has collapsed on approximately 90% of its surface”, explains the prefecture and the firefighters of the Marne in a press release.
“She was so pretty and was part of the half-timbered church circuit. Drosnay … in 12 minutes around noon … lost its architectural gem … A disaster for our small town, “says Régine Faure on social networks. The building was listed in 1982. “It is quite old and dates from the 15th or 16th century. It is a building of great importance, especially since it is the circuit of half-timbered churches south of the Der”, explains the mayor to France 3 regions.
For everyone, the priority is to secure the premises. According to firefighters, the fire is extinguished and the burned area is 1000 square meters. Almost double that of the church. “The priority is to secure the scene and ensure that there will be no problem afterwards. The church is affected, as is part of the cemetery: we will only be able to assess the damage in a few days”, notes Emmanuel Le Roy.
“It is sure that it is a trauma for the inhabitants. For them, this church refers to many things: baptisms, weddings, funerals. Not to mention the hundred graves, and therefore the relatives under the rubble”, regrets the city councilor. In addition, the material losses are substantial. A total of 10 objects protected as historical monuments (listed), including 4 statues (from the 17th to the 19th century), a high altar (same periods), an altar (18th century), windows (2nd quarter of the 16th century, 2nd half of the 19th century), benches and joinery (18th century), probably burned down.
