Two children, aged six and eight, tragically lost their lives in a chalet fire on J.F. Kennedy Street in Niel-bij-As, Belgium, on Saturday evening, while their mother and a third child sustained serious injuries.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze around 22:00. The mother and her three children, aged one, six, and eight, were home at the time of the fire. The six-year-old child died at the scene, while the eight-year-old succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Investigators and fire experts are set to examine the scene on Sunday to determine what sparked the fire, as the overnight conditions hindered earlier investigation.
When firefighters from the Genk station arrived, the chalet was already engulfed in flames. 16 firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze, which took about 20 minutes to subdue. Simultaneously, two of the children were rescued by a neighbour and rushed to the hospital after receiving immediate medical care from first responders.
Following the extinguishment, crews began searching for the third child. After roughly three hours, the six-year-old’s lifeless body was discovered in the severely damaged remains of the chalet. Additional support was provided by firefighters from Maaseik and a drone team from Maasmechelen.
The incident has deeply impacted emergency responders, who are receiving trauma support through the Fire Stress Team (FiST). This specialised programme ensures that firefighters across the region, including Limburg, receive assistance to process distressing events like this tragedy.
