A fire broke out on Saturday afternoon in an apartment building in Forest, Brussels, leaving one flat uninhabitable but causing no injuries, according to the city’s fire brigade.
Emergency services were alerted around 17:00 by a resident on Sint-Denijsstraat who noticed smoke coming from the ground floor of a two-storey building.
Upon arrival, firefighters determined the affected flat had been occupied illegally.
“There was initial information suggesting two people might be inside, but we found no one,” said fire brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw. “Residents on the first floor were safely evacuated, while we had to force open a door on the second floor, where no one was present.”
The firefighters successfully extinguished the flames, but the ground-floor flat was rendered uninhabitable.
“Inside the flat, we discovered two butane gas cylinders,” Derieuw added. “While not prohibited, it is safer to store them outdoors. Moreover, there had been tampering with the electricity and gas supply, which posed additional safety risks. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.”
