It is still unclear who was the fatal victim of the fierce fire that raged in Schellinkhout on Saturday night. Neighbors on Dorpsweg confirm that people did live in some of the storage units. Meanwhile, the police are still investigating the cause of the fire.
On Monday morning, the havoc caused by the fierce fire is clearly visible. Demolition work is underway and the police are investigating the cause of the fire and the identity of the victim. Several units have been completely destroyed.
The units were intended for storage. Others were used, for example, to tinker with cars. On Sunday, tenant Kevin Visser did yet his story at NH News/WEEFF. But according to neighbours, some units were also used to live in (illegally). Even before the municipality could be informed about this, things went horribly wrong on Saturday night. The neighbor with the house adjacent to the path with the units on it has a lot of damage and was visited by an insurance expert on Monday. Another neighbor was lucky that the wind was favorable.
Shocked and many questions
The neighborhood is shocked. And there are questions, many questions. Who lived in the units, where did the other residents go and how did the fire start? And was the victim an illegal resident?
There are stories that owner Frans Schouten initially told the emergency services that there were no people in the units. This has had no influence on the approach to the fire, says Annerieke Dekker of the Security Region.
“Initially, the fire service always assumes that people can be in a building and works with different methods, such as the use of thermal imaging cameras. During the fire in Schellinkhout, colleagues on the scene heard that people may have been staying in the business premises. We took that into account of the fire.”
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The fire service says it has done everything possible. “Because the fire was so intense and already raging when we arrived, our impression is that we couldn’t do more than we already did. Only the next morning, when extinguishing the fire, were we able to enter some units. This was also the unit where the deceased has been found.”
And then there is the quality of the units, which is questioned by some. Has the municipality of Drechterland recently checked these for fire safety? “An inspection always takes place on behalf of the municipality. Whether and when an inspection has been carried out at this location in recent years is currently being investigated,” says the Security Region.
Owner Frans Schouten was not available for comment.