A large fire raged in a detached house on Hoofdstraat in Rijen on Tuesday night. The house partly collapsed due to the fire. There may still be someone in the house, but the fire brigade cannot enter due to the risk of collapse. The fire is being fought from outside.
Emergency services were alerted shortly before midnight. When the fire brigade arrived, the house was already completely on fire. Some collapsed while extinguishing the fire.
Around 2 a.m., the fire brigade reported that a drone was being flown into the house to get an idea of the situation inside.
There is nothing yet to report about ‘the person who may be in the home’, the fire brigade said at night. “The emergency services and the municipality’s building and housing supervision are making a plan to safely enter the home for further investigation after the fire has been extinguished.”
House is in the middle of the village
The house is a stone’s throw from the Maria Magdalena Church in the middle of the village. The fire attracts a lot of attention. Hoofstraat is closed and bystanders are kept at a distance. The fire brigade used, among other things, an aerial platform to combat the enormous sea of flames.
The characteristic building was designated as a ‘cultural-historical valuable building’ by the municipality of Gilze en Rijen in 2023.