A fire broke out at a Brussels recycling plant on Thursday evening in the North of Brussels. The fire was raging so heavily that the region's fire brigade was still working on Friday morning to extinguish the blaze.
At around 21:20 on Thursday, the Brussels Fire Brigade was alerted to a fire that had broken out in a pile of old washing machines and boilers in a company specialising in metal waste treatment and recycling on the Allée Verte next to the Canal in Schaerbeek. The fire department was immediately on the scene with several crews, while several tankers were also dispatched to supply additional water.
"The possibility of drawing water from the canal is being considered," Brussels Fire Brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw said on Thursday evening. The fire generated a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles around and spread towards Schaerbeek and the City of Brussels.
Credit: Brussels Fire Department/ Walter Derieuw
By around 23:10, Derieuw confirmed that the fire had been contained, and its density reduced. "Classic smoke spreading (containing no additional toxins) is moving towards Schaerbeek and the City of Brussels," he said.
A be-alert warning message was sent by the safe.brussels agency, asking residents to keep their doors and windows closed to keep out the smoke.
On Friday morning, firefighters were still working to fully extinguish the blaze that broke out, Derieuw confirmed. "The clearing and cooling of hot spots in the fire is still in progress," he said. "Using site machinery, debris is being scattered layer by layer and there is no more smoke being spread. Fortunately, no injuries were reported."
How the pile of old washing machines and water heaters, stored outdoors at an unloading dock on the canal, caught fire is still unclear.
The fire also resulted in traffic being closed off, however, Derieuw confirmed that around 10:00 on Friday morning, traffic can resume on Allée Verte (on one lane towards the city centre and the two lanes towards Schaerbeek).
