The fire started around 10:30 am on the ground floor of a house in Sparappelstraat in Wijnendale (Torhout). A 58-year-old woman noticed the fire from her bed. She notified the emergency services, but was unable to leave the house on her own due to her medical condition. The victim had to be freed from her plight by the fire brigade. She was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The Bruges department of the West Flanders public prosecutor’s office has started an investigation into the precise circumstances of the fire. However, according to the initial findings, there are no indications of malicious intent. The house was declared uninhabitable.