Tragic Fire in Lyon Basement Highlights Growing Social Precarity
Four homeless individuals died in a Lyon basement fire, exposing harsh social living conditions and raising concerns on local precarity.
- • A fire in a Lyon residential building basement on October 20, 2025 killed four homeless people aged 29 to 50.
- • The fire likely started from a stove in a makeshift living area.
- • A resident recalled previous basement fires causing alarm but no deaths.
- • The tragedy exposes worsening social precarity in the affected neighborhood.
Key details
On October 20, 2025, a fatal fire broke out in the basement of a residential building located at 245, rue André-Philip in Lyon, claiming the lives of four homeless individuals aged between 29 and 50. The victims, two men and two women, succumbed to asphyxiation caused by toxic smoke during the early morning hours. Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire likely ignited from a stove within a makeshift living space recently improvised by two couples residing there. Resident Chrystel Clavelli, aged 56, reported hearing the fire alarm around 5:30 AM and seeing smoke, prompting her to alert firefighters who attempted to resuscitate the victims despite the tragic outcome. This incident is not isolated; Clavelli recalled a prior fire in December 2021 in the same building’s basement that caused panic due to smoke but no fatalities. The tragedy exposes the worsening precariousness and social challenges in the neighborhood, underlining the dangers faced by those forced into unsafe living conditions. This fire incident sharply underscores the urgent need to address housing instability and social vulnerabilities within the community.