A resident outlines how the fire started. “This morning my wife called that she was without electricity. I told her not to touch anything. The electrician came by and found that a fuse was overloaded. He went to get new fuses and when he got back, it was on fire. I can’t tell you more for the time being.”
Their son also tried to intervene. “My son took a fire extinguisher from the car and went downstairs to try to put out the fire. He inhaled a lot of smoke. He was checked at the scene, but did not have to go to hospital. He is in shock because of the events.”
The damage is significant. “Everything downstairs has completely burned out. There is a lot of smoke damage in the rest of the house and we are of course without electricity,” the resident concludes.
According to the municipal council of Heuvelland, the house is uninhabitable for the time being and the family must seek shelter elsewhere for at least a few days. The fire brigade warns local residents to close windows and doors and switch off ventilation systems.