A fire broke out at about 4:00 on Sunday at the Delhaize supermarket in Ath, but the blaze was quickly brought under control and no one was injured.
The fire started in a refrigerator near the fish counter at the store on Rue de l’Abbaye.
The automatic sprinkler system was triggered, allowing firefighters from the Wallonia Picardy emergency zone to contain the incident swiftly.
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“There was only smoke,” said store manager Vincent Duchâteau. “There were no injuries, and at that time there was nobody in the shop.”
He said the main damage was caused by water from the sprinkler system. Staff are now cleaning up, discarding loose goods and checking products one by one.
The electrical installations were restored quickly, he added.
Access to the store was blocked by several vehicles during the emergency response.
The supermarket is expected to reopen on Sunday afternoon or on Monday, according to the manager.
