A bird specialty store and a fish specialty store in Nieuw-Vennep were destroyed by fire this evening. The two companies were located in a commercial building on IJweg that burned to the ground. An unknown number of fish and birds were killed.
A spokesperson for the Safety Region informs NH Nieuws about this. The fire broke out around 10.30pm and quickly spread. Firefighters responded to the flames and evacuated two adjacent homes. While the blaze was extinguished, the fire brigade kept the homes wet to prevent the fire from spreading. “Fortunately, that worked,” said the spokesperson.
The fire is now under control, but the fire brigade will need a few more hours for extinguishing and demolition work. There are no people among the victims, but the birds and fish present in the buildings did not survive the fire. The spokesperson cannot say exactly how much. “The fire was out, so we haven’t been inside yet.”
Smoke
A lot of smoke was released during the fire, but the Safety Region still advises to keep windows and doors closed in the event of odor nuisance. Partly due to tonight’s thunderstorm, the wind direction varied, and the smoke moved in several directions.
It is too early to say whether the fire was caused by lightning, the spokesman said. Witnesses let NH Nieuws know that the storm was ‘still very far away’ at the time of the first report.
life’s work
The owners of the bird specialty store say on their Facebook page that ‘words fail’. “Our life’s work destroyed within half an hour. Without any form of goodbye, all our birds have fallen from us.” They also do not mention numbers.