A fierce fire raged in a squat in the Sint-Jansstraat in the City of Brussels last night. Nine people suffered symptoms of smoke inhalation and had to be transferred to hospital.
“At about 5:10, the 112-emergency centre received several calls about a fire in the Sint-Jansstraat” says Walter Derieuw of the Brussels fire service. “Police from Brussels-Elsene attended the scene and installed a security perimeter and evacuated residents. We evacuated two residents via a window on the front façade using our fire ladder, one person via the stairwell and one person via a flat roof at the back. A total of nine people, including five policemen, suffered smoke inhalation. They had to be taken to hospital for treatment.”
The cause of the fire is still unclear, said Walter Derieuw. “The building where the fire raged has been totally destroyed. The two adjacent houses are temporarily uninhabitable, until a city engineer has checked their stability. Red Cross officials and city services are taking care of the residents.”
