A fire broke out at an event venue in the Brussels municipality of Etterbeek around 23:00 on Wednesday evening, reports the Brussels fire department. The building is completely destroyed.
The fire raged beneath the solar panels on the roof of the Maison du Bois event venue. This 1,100 m² space is located in Etterbeek, near the Arsenal tram stop, and on the border with Auderghem. The building is operated by the Choux de Bruxelles group.
The fire department and emergency services received several calls regarding the fire on Wednesday evening and immediately responded with three turntable ladders, four fire engines, and a tanker truck.
Due to a serious risk of the wooden roof collapsing, the fire was initially fought only from the outside, using the turntable ladders as towers to extinguish the fire from above.
Credit: Brussels fire department
The fire caused a large cloud of smoke, which caused disruptions even as far away as Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. At the request of the fire department, a BeAlert warning was issued advising Brussels residents to keep windows and doors closed.
Around 01:30, the fire department was finally able to enter the building from the inside to fight the fire that way. A Civil Protection crane was also deployed to the scene to create openings in the roof and facilitate the firefighting efforts.
Around 03:00, the fire was reported to be completely extinguished, but the cleanup efforts continued for quite some time. The last fire engine did not leave the scene until around 07:30 in the morning. The fire department will continue to check for any resurgence of the fire throughout the morning.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Credit: Brussels fire department
