A fire broke out in a large apartment block near Brussels North railway station on Tuesday night, requiring a large-scale evacuation after the destruction of several flats and corridors.
Around ten minutes after midnight, the Brussels Fire Brigade was called to a fire in a flat on the third floor of a 10-storey building on Chaussée d'Anvers in the City of Brussels, located in the Northern Quarter. Upon arrival, the smoke detectors were going off.
"The fire was fully developed and spread to the fourth and fifth floors," spokesperson Walter Derieuw said. "With the help of the Brussels-Capital Ixelles police zone, the evacuation of around 130 occupants was completed," Derieuw added that, as the fire caused smoke development on all floors, other occupants were asked to confine themselves to their homes.
Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade
In the meantime, the police had set up a security perimeter and a reception centre in a nearby sports hall of the local police building. A medical intervention plan was activated and the Belgian Red Cross was mobilised to help care for possible injured inhabitants.
"In the end, nine people, including children, were evacuated to hospital with mild smoke poisoning," Derieuw said. One firefighter also suffered a minor eye injury.
Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade
Four flats were declared uninhabitable and the corridors of the third and fourth floor have been destroyed. A total of 28 people will be rehoused in hotels.
The fire was finally controlled at around 00:50, but the clearing and ventilation of the spaces took a long time; the last vehicles left the scene at around 04:00. Derieuw added that the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
