Late on Saturday night, Brussels’ fire service responded to a fire in a flat building in the commune of Forest on Chaussée de Neerstalle.
“When the Brussels Fire Department arrived, a spontaneous evacuation of the building was already underway”, revealed Walter Derieuw, spokesperson for the Brussels fire service, and the fifth-floor inhabitants were subsequently evacuated due to severe smoke.
The fire originated on the fourth floor, in a room that was unoccupied. The room was entirely burnt out, and the cause remains undetermined. Subsequently, the dwelling on the fourth floor was declared uninhabitable.
Quick response and evacuation efforts
No injuries were reported. Several residents of the apartment building were examined for safety by emergency medical personnel, and after a check for CO poisoning and building ventilation, the remaining flats were declared accessible by the fire service.
The South Brussels police had established a safety perimeter and aided in orchestrating the evacuation process.
“Thanks to an alert neighbour and a smoke detector, emergency services were able to intervene swiftly, resulting in minimal damage and no injuries,” noted Derieuw.
The spokesperson highlighted that smoke detectors will become mandatory in all types of homes by January 2025. “Don’t wait for this legal requirement to install smoke detectors. These relatively inexpensive devices save lives,” he warned.
