Frans van Hapert (75) was a firefighter in the fatal hotel fire at ‘t Silveren Seepaerd in Eindhoven, exactly 51 years ago. As a 24-year-old youth, he saw terrible things. Even after all these years, that particular evening is still clearly in his mind. He is happy that now, after 51 years, there is finally a monument to the victims, first responders and relatives of the hotel fire. “This is a form of appreciation that may come late, but it is there.”
The design for the monument was unveiled on Wednesday. It becomes a memorial stone in the ground surrounded by eleven luminous shards, one for each victim. They died in what would turn out to be one of the greatest disasters in the history of Eindhoven. On September 28, 1971, that huge fire broke out in the hotel on Stationsplein. There were 86 hotel guests present. In addition to eleven dead, nineteen people were also injured.
“I didn’t feel any kind of appreciation for the work we’ve all done.”
Frans van Hapert saw the disaster pass by that morning. He is very happy with the monument. “It was the largest hotel fire in the Netherlands and the largest post-war fire in Eindhoven. At the time, it just passed. I am happy that we still want to commemorate the time that is behind us.”
As a 24-year-old, Van Hapert had to extinguish the fire and save as many people as possible. An almost impossible task. “It was very intense. The fire was huge. There was so much fire.”
He saw terrible things. “On arrival someone jumped down behind me, about three meters away. It came from the third or fourth floor and fell dead. That made a big impression.”
Frans often wondered why there was no memorial. “What happened here and what we all stood for. I thought that all had to be pushed back. I didn’t feel any kind of appreciation for the work we all have done. If you can solve problems and make people happy with your efforts, then I think this is a form of appreciation that comes late, but it is there.”
“It’s really something typical of Eindhoven with those luminous shards.”
He had to get used to the design for the monument. “I had more of an image or a plaque in my head, but I was pleasantly surprised. At the time of the fire, we were really a working-class town. This design is futuristic. It suits the city of Eindhoven with Brainport.”
Initiator Van Dooren is proud that the monument will now actually be completed after 51 years. “I think it’s really cool. This is not just a monument. It’s really something typical of Eindhoven with those luminous shards.”
The monument should be located where the hotel used to be. Van Dooren hopes that the memorial stone with the shards will be in the right place in a few months. Exactly how big the monument will be and what text will be on the stone will be decided shortly.
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