'Heroic': three Brussels youths rescue residents from burning building

'Heroic': three Brussels youths rescue residents from burning building
Credit: Google Streetview

On Sunday night, three young men saved the lives of at least six local residents from a burning building in the Brussels commune of Ixelles.

On the night of 27 June, someone noticed a burning mattress against the facade of a block of flats on Avenue de l'Hippodrome in Ixelles.

When the fire quickly spread to the shutters on the ground floor of the building and to the façade itself, which produced heavy smoke, he called the emergency services.

At that point, he is joined by three young men who saw the flames in the distance and came to see if they could help, according to a press release from the Brussels-Capital Ixelles police zone.

The young men immediately broke down the front door to enter the building, warn the sleeping residents on each floor of the fire, and bring them into the fresh air.

"The courage of Younes (26), Imad and another Younes, both 20 years old, combined with their responsiveness and coolness, probably saved the lives of six people, including a young child," the release reads.

After all the residents were evacuated, the three young men stopped several motorists, asked for their fire extinguishers and managed to get the fire partially under control by the time the fire brigade arrived.

The Brussels fire service, assisted by members of the Brussels-Capital Ixelles police zone, took over, and left the scene at around 3:40 AM, when the fire was fully under control.

According to the first evidence gathered on the scene, it seems as if the fire was set deliberately, but the ongoing investigation will have to confirm the findings.

"Thanks to the commendable heroism of these people, the damage caused by the fire is purely material," the police said.

The façade and stairs of the building were damaged, the home of the family living on the ground floor is currently uninhabitable and the car of an occupant of one of the upper floors, which was parked in front of the building, was also damaged due to the heat and the implosion of the windows on the ground floor.


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.