“I came from the bakery and suddenly saw the flames going through the roof,” says a passer-by. “I immediately called the fire brigade. They eventually got it under control quickly.” Acting mayor Roger Van Aperen (N-VA) also arrived on site. “It involved a fire at the back of the building on the side where the youth clubs used to be,” says Van Aperen. “The fire started under the awning and then spread to the building itself. The damage appears to be minor, but there is of course a lot of damage to the roof. The fire brigade also concentrated on the kitchen because there were still gas bottles there. Cause ? That is up to the fire brigade and police to investigate. It is of course a strange place where the fire started.”
Under the awning at the former youth rooms there are rubbish bins and some other rubbish. Spontaneous spontaneous combustion seems impossible. Arson is being investigated. It is striking that just before the start of the new school year, on August 31, a picnic bench was set on fire a little further down the Antoon de Lalaingstraat. “It is not always the nicest corner of Hoogstraten anymore,” says the neighborhood. “Litter, waste, drug use. We don’t think it’s strange that it’s happening here.”
The youth associations have only just left the premises in the Pax. They have now put brand new youth rooms into use at Den Dijk.