"We've lost everything", companies are "shocked"

"We lost everything." At the time of the first assessment, the confusion is palpable. Tuesday morning, a gigantic fire ravaged a business incubator located in the Bel-Air district of
Villeurbanne. Fifty-five companies were destroyed or badly damaged, like the start-up Meersens, which developed
an application and a case to measure the quality of the environment. "All our prototypes went up in smoke. We were in a phase of pre-industrialization. Today, we do not have much: more office, more computer, more communication media, no more documents, "laments Julie Fessy. And to add: "But our losses are less compared to other companies."

Hease Robotics was hit harder. "We went on site with our associates and it was a real shock. The team is traumatized, "says Jade Le Maître, co-founder of the Lyon start-up which employs 16 employees. "All our stock of robots has disappeared. It's a huge loss, "says the young woman, who estimates the amount of damage to more than a million euros.

An impulse of "incredible" generosity

"It will take us eight to ten months to bring out a robot. In the meantime, what will I do with the company, employees, how will we be able to deliver the customers? She wonders. Stressing, however, "the momentum of incredible generosity" since Tuesday morning: "The whole ecosystem is sticking together. We have entrepreneurial friends who have called us to offer temporary accommodation solutions, to have a drink, to comfort us. "

#Villeurbanne
This is our premises ….
We have nothing left …
We are living like a death ….
Thank you all for your messages of support. We are affected.
Thanks to the ecosystem @ H7lyon @lacuisineduweb @grandlyon @villedelyon who is moving for the @_BelAirCamp_ pic.twitter.com/cPx70TMlgM

– Jade The Master 🤖 (@Aratta) October 8, 2019

"French tech digital supports us, it's warm to the heart," Julie Fessy abounds. The aperitifs organized every week, the collective sports sessions welded the different teams over the weeks. "Today, it is not everyone for himself but we mobilize all for one another," she adds.

"We will push insurance and banks to react very quickly"

A meeting was scheduled Tuesday at 17:30 with the City of Villeurbanne and the Metropolis to identify the needs of each. "The goal is to avoid any business disruption even if we know that some must start from scratch. This is not only to find new temporary premises but also to support them in their administrative procedures to help them leave, "says contractor Bruno Bonnell, LREM deputy of the 6th district of the Rhone. And to add: "We will push insurance and banks to react very quickly."

Jade The Master expects a lot of this meeting and "public authorities" to "move insurance". "We need money to revive production. Premises will not be enough. Without money, it hurts me to say it, the company will be in danger. We really need monetary support, "she says, confessing to feeling" totally helpless ".