Around 400 shells and pieces of ammunition have been recovered in the area where over 180 homes were ravaged by flames, according to local authorities.During the fire, blasts were heard, initially mistaken for exploding gas cylinders, but they may have been these shells, according to fire commander Thomas Mimiague. The munitions, both German and French, consist mainly of mortar shells, along with some high-explosive anti-tank shells. "We don’t really know why they're there; we think they were just abandoned," Mimiague said.