The damage is clearly visible the morning after the devastating fire in the center of Laren. The monumental building on Sint Janstraat where a fire broke out yesterday has been hit hard. The thatched roof is almost burned down and there is nothing left of the upstairs apartment.
The flaps of the fire attract a lot of attention this morning in the village. For many Laarders it feels like a piece of village center has been lost. “Really terrible for the village view, especially with the Sint Jan Sunday,” says a woman who has been living in the village for seven years. “There is already a lot of empty in Laren and this is the heart of the village here at the Brink. Very sad.”
There are now high construction fences in front of the building, but there is plenty of visible to see how large the damage is. A lonely clothing doll is in front of the building between the rubble.
Water continues to flow
While the smoke smell is still hanging in the street, workmen are busy closing the water pipe. The water was still flowing out of the building on Wednesday morning.
“We take the lead off, because it just keeps on walking,” says one of the men. The gas was already closed. According to the men, the insurance came by in the early morning to record the first damage.
Sad sight in the village
Many residents of the village come to look at the damage and shock of the destruction this morning. “I regularly came to the clothing store,” says a woman who has been living in Laren for thirty years. “Sisera was a bit higher in the segment, but had nice things.” She looks at the burnt -out building. “And now, it still smells like smoke.”
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She also noticed the consequences of the fire at home. “I closed the windows and doors, because it was so hard. Occasionally it was a bit of blue sky, smoke of course.”
A resident who lives directly behind the building held his heart because of his own thatched roof. “We did suffer from the smoke, but we were actually not too bad. The wind was just the other way,” he says.
“We were particularly afraid of our own roof. I first kept the roof with the garden hose and then the fire brigade came to help. They put a kind of water curtain on the path, so that the sparks did not come to our house. That was nice.”
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Fire damage, water damage and cause
The shops on the ground floor, Sisera and women’s fashion store Cappuccino, are badly damaged. There is hardly anything left of the interior. In addition to fire damage, there is also a lot of water damage due to the extinguishing work.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. According to the Gooi and Vechtstreek security region, the question of whether it will ever be outdated.