A fire has broken out near the Central Station in Antwerp on Friday, reports De Standaard, the Antwerp Fire Brigade and police services are advising people to keep windows and doors closed, as well as to leave the area clear for the emergency services.
Fire Brigade Zone Antwerp, the Antwerp police and the emergency services arrived on Vestingstraat, by the station, Friday morning. A BE-Alert, a government service that warns residents of danger, was sent out.
"We received a call at 05:44 this morning that there was a blazing fire in an enclosed property behind several homes. The call came in as a roof fire, but quickly escalated to a complete house fire," said Marie De Clercq, spokesperson for the Antwerp fire brigade.
Streets near station closed
Early this morning, firefighters were attempting to extinguish the fire, but were struggling to do so as the building is encircled by other nearby buildings.
'It was a complex fire to extinguish, which is why a lot of resources were requested. We are here with different teams to ensure that the handling of the incident goes as smoothly as possible," said the spokesperson.
Related News
Streets near the station, including Pelikaanstraat and Vestingstraat are currently closed to traffic. The Central Station's entrances and exits are also closed in Pelikaanstraat.
"Avoid the area. Close windows and doors and turn off the ventilation," it read. The Antwerp World Diamond Center told all employees on Friday not to come to the office until further notice.
