Fire breaking out in a residential tower on Watersportbaan in Ghent: difficult evacuation due to intense smoke development | Region

A fire broke out in one of the residential towers at the Watersportbaan in Ghent, East Flanders, on Monday evening around 7:30 PM. The fire started in a kitchen in one of the flats. There was heavy smoke development, but the fire brigade quickly got the fire under control. Four people were injured and eight apartments are uninhabitable.

The kitchen fire broke out on the seventh floor of an apartment building on Belvedereweg, along the Watersportbaan in Ghent. The fire spread to the eighth floor. The emergency services arrived en masse and fought the fire from both inside and outside.

Initially, the medical emergency plan was also announced, but it was soon lifted. Ultimately, four people were slightly injured.

During the fire, not all residents could be evacuated immediately. “There was too much smoke development,” explains fire brigade spokesman Bjorn Bryon. Evacuating them became a priority after the fire was extinguished. That was the case around 7:55 p.m., after which the fire brigade proceeded to ventilate the building.

Mayor Mathias De Clercq also arrived on the scene. “The fire brigade was quickly on site and had the fire under control quickly. Fortunately, there were no casualties apart from the four slightly injured people. At least eight apartments are uninhabitable. A total of one hundred residents were evacuated. The fire brigade is still checking everything. It is still unclear whether the residents can still return to their apartments today. We have opened two shelter locations and called in buses. I also visited the evacuees to encourage them. They were very impressed, but also praise the emergency services, who have done a fantastic job.”