Awaiting trial: RTS reports Lens public safety inspector prosecuted, facing negligence charges 2022 fire
Conflict of Interest disclaimer: the author has resided in Switzerland, he has taken the Swiss citizenship oath and, from time to time, been party to legal and contractual relationships involving parties referenced in the JuristGate reports. The nature of these relationships is often declared within the research reports although we can't rule out the possibility some relationships or influences have not been explicitly itemized within every report.
On Sunday, Swiss broadcaster RTS reported that there was another fire in the same district, Lens VS, in 2022.
In circumstances similar to the tragic fire at Le Constellation on New Year's Eve, the fire spread quickly to other parts of the building. Nobody was killed but at least one neighbour required treatment in intensive care.
The Canton Valais prosecutors felt that the rapid spread of the fire was preventable. They began a prosecution against the public safety officer for the Commune of Lens (VS). RTS has not published his name but it is easy enough to find Nicolas Grange is the suspect waiting for trial.
In a local magazine from April 2020, the authorities tell us:
Chargé de sécurité La Commune s’est dotée d’un nouveau chargé de sécurité et délégué BPA (Bureau de prévention des accidents) en la personne de Nicolas Granges. Il est joignable soit par téléphone au 027 484 25 16, soit par e-mail: nicolas.grange@lens.ch
The same magazine has an article about local schoolchildren visiting a display of aboriginal Australian art at the Opal Foundation. The Opals themselves are found in Australia. The children in the photo from 2020 would now be between 15 and 18 years of age. Maybe some of them were in Le Constellation at the time of the fire?
We found the name and job title of Mr Grange in this report about improvements to the council offices.
We don't want to speculate about whether Grange is innocent or not, The more pressing question for us: if the prosecutors were aware the standard of inspections was inadequate since at least 2022, why didn't they escalate concerns about the matter to the Canton's executive?
Please see the rest of the JuristGate reports.
Conflict of Interest disclaimer: the author has resided in Switzerland, he has taken the Swiss citizenship oath and, from time to time, been party to legal and contractual relationships involving parties referenced in the JuristGate reports. The nature of these relationships is often declared within the research reports although we can't rule out the possibility some relationships or influences have not been explicitly itemized within every report.