Thanks to decisive action by neighbors at the Biathlon in Assendelft, a woman with her two small children was liberated from a very plight last night. Because of a fire in her home, which probably started in the kitchen, the mother had fled with her children to the roof of an extension of the corner house. Observant neighbors then managed to get her down and to safety.
Street full of smoke
It is around midnight when neighbors come home by car and find a street full of smoke. They immediately alert the other neighbours, including Michel and Saskia Verket, who live right next to the burning corner house. “The whole house was already in bed,” said Michel. “I immediately got my family outside to safety.”
Meanwhile, a group of neighbors are discussing whether anyone is present in the burning house. “They thought no one was home,” said neighbor Saskia. “But we had heard the baby cry shortly before.” Michel then decides to walk directly to the back gate of the house. “I smashed in the gate door,” he says. “Then she stood there on the extension, completely panicked with two children in her arms.”
The group of neighbors that has meanwhile gathered with Michel in the backyard, then manages to get the mother and her two children down safely. “It was a bit more difficult with one of the children,” says Michel. “Because she was very attached to her mother.” Finally, the fire brigade, which has now arrived, also manages to get a bird out of the house, alive and well.
Mother and children temporarily housed elsewhere
The mother and her two children, including a three-week-old baby, have been temporarily housed elsewhere. It is not yet clear how much damage the fire has caused. Meanwhile, the neighbors try to find out who the observant local resident was who discovered the fire and warned the other neighbors. “We are looking for them”, Michel explains with a smile while his wife stands next to him with a large bunch of flowers. “We would like to give them a flower, but we can’t find them yet.”