A fire broke early on Thursday morning at a metallurgical company in the Brussels municipality of Haren. To the surprise of emergency crews, the fire was put out with the help of a civilian who lent his services to the fire brigade.
At 04:00, the local fire brigade was alerted to a blaze at a company located along the canal. A container loaded with various industrial items was found to be engulfed in flames and fire crews started to extinguish the fire with their engines, ladders, and hoses.
“Water that was used to put out the fire was partly pumped from the canal,” explained fire brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw. Unfortunately, the fire brigade had difficulties accessing the insides of the flaming container to help disperse the fire.
An unlikely hero stepped in to help. A company employee, with the help of his equipment, is reported to have lent his services to put out the blaze.
“A company crane operator helped us empty the container and disperse the flaming objects to cool,” Derieuw said. “The man was then taken to hospital to ensure that he had not inhaled smoke.”
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Two hours after the blaze began, at around 06:00, the fire was put out by firefighters. The exact cause of the fire is as of yet unknown.
