French Police Arrest Suspect in Deadliest Blaze in Paris in Last Decade

French police have arrested a man in connection with a fire that ripped through a Paris apartment building early Wednesday morning. Eight people — including two children — died in the blaze, which police suspect may have been arson. Four others were hospitalized with injuries.

Fire crews fight the blaze on Rue de Myrha, in Paris.

Sources close to the investigation told the local press that France's Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) arrested the 36-year-old suspect early this morning after he was spotted on surveillance footage. The man was reportedly taken in for questioning at the headquarters of the Paris criminal investigation unit (Police Judiciaire — PJ), which has been tasked with leading the investigation.

A police source told daily Metronews that the suspect is homeless and known to the police for a string of drug and criminal damage offenses, The source also said the man did not seem "in full possession of his mental faculties" at the time of his arrest. According to AFP, the man was found in possession of a lighter and a candle.

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Senegalese radio RFM revealed Wednesday that four of the victims — including the two children — were Senegalese. According to local news site Dakar Actu, the owner of the building is currently staying in Senegal's capital Dakar.

Alassane Tandian, a third-floor resident in the building, told BFM TV that he survived the blaze by escaping through a window. "I was woken up by the smoke," he said. "I tried to open the door, but the heat made it impossible." Tandian said he lost four relatives in the blaze.

Housing rights group Droit Au Logement (DAL) invited Parisians to gather at Place de la République Wednesday night to "show their solidarity and support" to those affected by the fire, including the victims' families.

Fire crews responded to two separate calls at the address — 4, Rue de Myrha — in the early hours of Wednesday. They were first called to the scene at 2:23am to put out a small fire in the lobby of the privately owned building. Fire service spokesman Gabriel Plus told AFP that the first blaze caused "limited damage."

They responded to a second call at around 4:30am, after being alerted by neighbors who awoke to the sound of screams. According to witness statements, residents became trapped by the flames and tried to escape through the windows.

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By the time the fire crews arrived on the scene — six minutes after the call was placed — the building was engulfed in flames. Speaking to French radio France Info, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the fire started in the lobby and spread to the stairwell.

Two of the eight victims died after leaping from their windows to escape the flames. Six died from smoke inhalation. Brandet said firefighters were able to save seven people.

The fire was put out at 8am, shortly after Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve arrived at the scene. "This morning, Paris is in mourning," Hidalgo wrote on Twitter. "I have confidence that the police forces will quickly determine the origin of this incident."

President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls also took to Twitter Wednesday to offer their condolences to the victims' families.

The fire is the deadliest blaze in Paris since 2005, when three successive fires killed nearly 50 people in the capital.

Follow Pierre Longeray on Twitter: @PLongeray

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