Birthday Cake Causes Tragic Bar Fire

A birthday celebration turned tragic in France this week when the candles on a birthday cake started a fire in a local restaurant that killed 13 people and injured six more.

According to Reuters, the birthday celebration was taking place in the basement of a bar in Rouen called Cuba Libre on Friday night. About 20 people were in the basement for the party when someone brought in a birthday cake loaded with candles and sparklers. Somehow the cake fell down, and the carpet in the room burst into flames, filling the place with fire and poisonous gas.

The fire tore through the basement and the main floor of the bar. Witnesses saw the flames explode through the bar's windows.

The fire was so sudden and so extreme that at first people thought it might have been a terrorist attack, but while an investigation is ongoing, authorities in Rouen say it was just a tragic accident.