In the past ten years, the number of people dying in house fires in Belgium has not systematically decreased and is spurring calls for a nationwide prevention strategy.
At least 63 people died in 49 house fires across Belgium last year, according to statistics from the non-profit Oscare, a post-fire treatment and research centre for burns and scars. In total, 54 adults and 10 young people were killed.
"Unfortunately, this is still a very high number," the organisation noted. In the past ten years, there have been at least 548 fatal house fires, which led to 636 deaths. "The victims ranged in age from 0 years (not yet born) to 99 years," Oscare said in a statement.
The first incident occurred on 4 January 2023 in Kerksken, East Flanders, in which two people lost their lives. It was caused by a multi-connector.
The last noted fire fatal house fire in 2023 happened on at around 01:00 on 25 December 2023. A person in their 60s died in a fire in their Erquelinnes home, the cause of which remains unknown.
The province of Liège (15) recorded the highest number of fatalities, followed by Hainaut (12) and East Flanders (11). Both Walloon Brabant and West Flanders reported the lowest number (one fatal incident each).
The youngest victim was an unborn baby who died in a kitchen fire on 3 October 2023 in Deurne. The oldest victim was aged 89, and was killed in a house fire in Ichtegem, believed to been started by a lit cigarette.
Importance of prevention
In the past decade, the highest number of house fires with fatalities happened in the winter months of December and January, likely because people spend more time at home in this period.
The 2014-2023 data shared by Oscare showed that the number of fatal house fires has seen a decrease in certain years (2021, for example), but there has been no structural decline in victims, and the number remains high.
Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade
The organisation pointed to The Netherlands' "10 years of fatal house fires" report from 2017 to highlight Belgium's poor performance. In the period from 2008 to 2017, in 287 house fires, 311 people died here.
"This is half as many as in Belgium, while 18 million people live in The Netherlands and Belgium has a population of 11.7 million. The importance of prevention is crucial to bring this figure down."
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Oscare called for a national strategy to raise awareness about the dangers of fire as people often disregard potential fire hazards in their homes and the measures they can take to minimise risks.
It welcomed the fact that, from 1 January next year, smoke detectors will become compulsory in the Brussels Region, in every home. Now, there is currently only an obligation for rental properties.
