Faulty Phone Charger Blamed in Fatal Fire That Killed Young Girl Near Khémisset

Many people had attributed the responsibility for the death of the little girl "which could and should have been avoided" to the civil protection elements. According to the residents, quoted by Médias24, the civil protection rescuers would be "under-equipped and arrived too late". Interviewed by the media, a senior officer of the Civil Protection stated that the investigation exonerates the firefighters and rather points the finger at the witnesses of the scene.

According to this senior official, under the cover of anonymity, there were in this case two determining factors which, according to him, "could have changed the course of events". This is confirmed, according to him, by the preliminary conclusions of the independent investigation. Indeed, there was a "precious loss of time", he says. "Instead of immediately alerting the emergency services, the residents began to take photos and film the window of the 1st floor engulfed in flames," he notes. And he adds that by behaving in this way, they therefore lost precious time that would have been very useful to mobilize the firefighters from the nearby barracks more quickly".

The other thing that also wasted time "comes from the fact that several people contacted number 155 instead of calling 15," he adds. In reality, he emphasizes, "the call that alerted the barracks came from a person working in a cafe next to the tragedy and who is a friend of a civil protection element." It is therefore the latter, who called at 5:13 p.m. on his personal mobile phone, and who warned his colleagues, the media notes.

"Contrary to the accusations related to the lack of water, the senior civil protection official claims that the tank of the truck was full of water." Regarding the number of firefighters mobilized to manage the Sidi Allal Al Bahraoui tragedy, the officer states that 8 people were present on the scene: 2 ambulance drivers, 5 firefighters and their chief, contrary to what is said.

"These teams, equipped with all the necessary equipment, had no trouble arriving quickly on the scene but once again, the unfortunate outcome is explained by the alert being raised too late, he laments.

For now, the whole city of Khémisset is still in shock, following this tragedy. The parents of the little girl remain inconsolable.