About 60 residents were evacuated after a fire broke out overnight in a six-storey block of flats in Anderlecht, but nobody was injured.
The fire started late on Saturday night in a building on Rue Ropsy Chaudron, Brussels firefighters said on Sunday morning. During the operation, crews found serious shortcomings in the building’s fire safety measures.
Firefighters were called at about 01:30, when the blaze was already producing heavy smoke. By the time emergency services arrived, many residents were already outside, while others were still leaving the building.
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Police from the Brussels-Midi zone, covering Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Forest, set up a safety perimeter and helped with the evacuation. A STIB bus was brought in to provide temporary shelter for residents.
Given the large number of evacuees and the fact that several people showed symptoms after inhaling smoke, the medical emergency response plan was activated in consultation with the attending emergency doctor, firefighters’ spokesman Walter Derieuw said.
A priority alert under the Brussels firefighters’ internal emergency plan was also issued, and a psychosocial support plan was activated. Several people were examined at the scene, but none needed to be taken to hospital.
The seat of the fire was quickly identified near the rubbish storage area and was soon brought under control, Derieuw said.
However, smoke spread into the stairwells and across several floors because of failings in the building’s fire compartmentation. Ventilating the building took some time.
Once the shared areas had been thoroughly ventilated and carbon monoxide levels checked, residents were allowed to return to their flats one by one.
