An accident in the parking garage beneath their apartment turned the entire year of Joke and Frits Kool from Den Bosch upside down. After the accident, a devastating fire broke out, making 22 homes above the parking garage at Velderwoude in Den Bosch uninhabitable. The couple has not been home since January 17. “Everything must be moldy,” says Frits. “The sandwich is still on the table.”
In a temporary home on the Zandleij Estate in Cromvoirt, Joke makes a pot of coffee. Frits and Joke lived in an apartment on the Velderwoude for 22 years, in a building with 52 houses and 34 apartments. “It was wonderful living there, close to nature and the river.”
Joke talks in the past tense, because she hasn’t been home for almost a year. “On January 17, there was an accident in the parking garage directly underneath our home.” A fire broke out and the houses were evacuated. “We thought we would be able to return after half an hour, but it has now been more than eleven months.”
“It was ten past eight, we were having breakfast,” Frits can still describe the day in question from minute to minute. “We suddenly heard a loud bang, a boom. The whole building shook. And we heard a screeching sound.”
A neighbor came running upstairs. “He shouted for us to call 911.” The upstairs neighbor appeared to have driven through a wall. “Instead of turning left, he drove straight. He ended up in a storage room with his car,” says Joke. The man died in hospital a day later.
“The fire spread very quickly through the insulation material.”
Frits and two other residents tried to save the man. “The car’s engine kept running. We saw flames under the car, but they went out again.” He smashed the window with a hammer and then turned off the car.
Not much later the fire brigade arrived and Frits had to go outside. “Now everything will be fine, we thought. The fire brigade managed to pull the car out of the wall and get the victim out of the car.” Then things went horribly wrong: “The car caught fire and then things got completely out of hand. The flames reached the ceiling and the fire spread very quickly through the insulation material.” Dozens of cars were on fire.
After the devastating fire, the residents of 22 homes were unable to return home. Seven apartments and twelve houses must be demolished. Three other homes need to be completely renovated.
“The fire was right below us, so it was very hot. The structure has been so damaged by the fire that demolition is the only option.” And so on the morning of January 17, Joke and Frits slammed the door of their house and never stepped foot in it again.
What would the breakfast table look like now? It is a question that often concerns the couple. “A half-eaten sandwich, a mandarin was ready and my tea glass was still half full. That’s all still there. Only it will be completely moldy.”
The first night they slept in a hotel, which was arranged by the municipality. Then Joke and Frits had to figure it out themselves. They found temporary accommodation in Cromvoirt. “A beautiful village, but we are not at home here,” sighs Frits.
In their house there is a Christmas wreath in the window, the only Christmas decoration this year. “The Christmas tree is still in Den Bosch. Christmas is still at home, we keep saying,” says Joke with a cautious smile. But the question is whether that Christmas tree will ever return. Joke hopes to see photos, a painting and jewelry again someday. “I hope they can save it. I have no idea yet whether we will get any of our stuff back, we are not counting on anything.”
“I don’t have to live in that place anymore. It’s too confrontational.”
The demolition and reconstruction will start in March and will take a year and a half. “My wife would still like to go back,” says Frits. “But I don’t have to live there anymore. It is too confrontational because of what I experienced there.” The image of the upstairs neighbor lying over the steering wheel and showing no signs of life deeply affected Frits. “Because of that image, I didn’t sleep a wink the first night. When I talk about the fire, I think of that image. We tried to save him, but we were unable to do so.”
Joke looks cautiously at the new year: “I hope we stay healthy and can go to a new place.” The couple has found a new apartment. Frits nods: “In that respect, we are entering the new year with a lot of optimism. Fortunately we still have each other, we hold each other.”
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