VICTIMS BETWEEN TWO FIRES: VICTIMS OF FIRES

Abstract

From ten fires observed in the field, we will observe how dramatic the consequences of a disaster can be for the victims. In a dozen other fires, accidental or criminal, six questions were asked to the victims in order to collect their feelings after the damage suffered. It turns out that the victim of a fire, like any victim, remains traumatized by the facts, but it has a peculiarity. This particularity concerns the loss of their sentimental heritage when it went up in smoke. It is the feeling of immense sadness, of inconsolable sorrow over the irreversible loss of sometimes worthless property. But if these objects have no market value, they have a sentimental, moral value to which the victims hold more than anything and which no compensation will replace. Even if financial compensation contributes to the psychological healing of the damage suffered, the after-effects remain indelible.