Three people were taken to hospital after inhaling smoke from a fire that broke out in a residential building in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on Sunday afternoon.
According to fire brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw, the blaze occurred in a three-storey shared housing building containing 20 separate rooms, where serious fire safety and evacuation issues were identified.
Firefighters were called to the building on Avenue du Jubilé at around 15:15. The fire broke out in a room on the second floor at the rear of the building and was extinguished using a low-pressure hose.
"The rooms on the second and third floors were searched, including those where doors had to be forced open," Derieuw said.
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Firefighters evacuated two people from the second floor through the stairwell, while a third person was rescued from the third floor using an aerial ladder. All three were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.
Only the second floor was declared uninhabitable, while residents of the other floors were allowed to return.
Firefighters disconnected gas and electricity supplies during the operation. Firefighters restored gas before leaving, while checks on the electricity supply were still ongoing.
Firefighters also identified several serious fire safety shortcomings in the building.
"The building has 20 separate rooms but no fire compartmentation or fire detection system. The evacuation routes at the rear were no longer usable," Derieuw said.
