A fire broke out in a terraced house in the Brussels suburb of Laeken on Thursday morning, resulting in five residents being hospitalised due to smoke inhalation.
The fire has made the upper floors of the house uninhabitable, though the ground floor café can still operate, according to the Brussels Fire Brigade.
The alarm was raised at around 06:20 by the owner of a night shop across the street who noticed the fire on the first floor of the property on Rue Emile Wauters in Laeken. Firefighters arrived to find a building with a café on the ground floor and residential units on the three upper floors.
"There was a lot of smoke when we arrived, and one person was rescued from a window on the second floor using a fire ladder," said fire service spokesperson Walter Derieuw. "Four other residents were already outside. The five residents who inhaled light smoke were taken to Brugman Hospital and UZ VUB."
Emergency services tackle the fire on Rue Wauters in Laeken, Thursday 23 January 2025. Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade
By around 07:00, the fire was under control.
"The cause of the fire is yet to be determined," added the spokesperson. "Due to the wooden floors between the first and second floors, thorough after-extinguishing was necessary. Cleanup operations are still ongoing. The upper floors are uninhabitable, but the café can still be operated."
The fire service spokesperson also provided safety tips: install smoke detectors, which have been mandatory for all types of housing in the region since 1 January.
If the layout of the space and the fire conditions allow, avoid evacuating through smoke-filled stairwells and signal your presence to the emergency services at the window using gestures, a mobile phone, a flashlight, or by calling 112.
