The Hilversum crematorium will be closed for at least a week after a short but fierce fire this morning. At least five funerals this week will be rebooked to other locations, says Anita van Loon of Uitvaartstichting Hilversum.
The short fire this morning caused a lot of damage to the facade of the crematorium on the side of the reception room.
The fire was believed to have been caused by landscaping workers. “They were burning away weeds. Then dry leaves probably started to smolder and that caused the fire,” says Van Loon. “We were lucky that employees quickly discovered the fire and immediately started extinguishing it themselves. That really prevented things from getting worse. The fire service then took over that work.”
Funerals moved
There was no funeral going on at the time of the fire, but one was planned for today. “We quickly called the relatives of this funeral to tell the bad news and to move the memorial ceremony to our cemetery at Bosdrift,” says Van Loon.
The same applies to at least four other funerals this week. “It is not that a funeral is not possible inside, but the damage is prominent. We do not want to confront relatives with that on an already sad day.”
After the fire, Funeral Home Hilversum quickly contacted a contractor and the supplier of the facade panels to repair the damage as quickly as possible. “Everything is started immediately and cleaning is already taking place inside, for example. How quickly the facade will be repaired remains to be seen and depends on delivery times. That is why we are also keeping a close eye on it for next week. The chance We may also have to move funerals to one of our other locations.”