Brussels firefighters prevented a fire at a restaurant in Saint-Gilles from spreading to apartments in the same building on Thursday evening.
Firefighters, emergency medical services and Brussels-Midi police were called to Rue de Roumanie at around 18:30 following initial reports of a roof fire.
Smoke was visible when emergency services arrived at the three-storey building, which houses a restaurant on the ground floor.
Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade.
Firefighters eventually located the blaze in the restaurant's kitchen extraction system. Ducts from kitchens in the basement and ground floor meet near a wooden platform on the first level, where the fire had started.
The building's layout made the blaze particularly difficult to reach. Firefighters had to open part of the wooden platform, sections of the roof, and areas around the extraction ducts.
They managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the apartments in the building.
Following the incident, Brussels firefighters warned that extraction ducts and chimneys in professional kitchens should be regularly inspected and cleaned to prevent the build-up of flammable grease.
Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade.
They noted, however, that initial information indicated maintenance had recently been carried out at this restaurant.
No one was injured. The operation ended at around 20:15.
The fire was accidental, but its exact cause has yet to be determined.
