Overview
- The fire started shortly after 4 a.m. in a single room of the emergency service, where a security guard and a caregiver used extinguishers before about 60 firefighters took over.
- Thirty-two people were evacuated horizontally during the incident, including 19 patients moved to the hospital’s maternity unit.
- Officials said the victim, born in 1949 and admitted on January 2, died in the affected room despite the rapid intervention by staff.
- The Toulon prosecutor has opened an inquiry to determine the cause of the fire and the death, with investigators assessing an unconfirmed oxygen leak as a likely source.
- The emergency department is closed until a safety commission authorizes reopening, while other services continue operating and emergency care is redirected via the 15 hotline or to nearby hospitals such as Sainte-Musse in Toulon.