Mortsel (Brussels Morning Newspaper ) – The centre of Mortsel witnessed the total destruction of two automobiles. The woman in Lindenlei suddenly spotted both smoke and fire erupting beneath her bonnet. The woman stepped forward to move both her child and herself to a protected location. Fire quickly spread from the parked vehicle. No one was injured.
A Mercedes in Mortsel’s centre suddenly burst into flames while moving, causing complete devastation to two automobiles. During her drive on Lindenlei, the woman operating the vehicle detected bonnet smoke and fire, which led her to instantly pull over to save herself and her child.
Both vehicles were completely burned by the fire, which moved from the driving Mercedes to a Renault Clio that was parked nearby.
The flames damaged one tree in addition to the vehicles. The emergency team got to the scene quickly to put out the fire since no one sustained injuries. First responders managed to clear the roadway for public use again during early afternoon as officials proceeded with their investigations into what started the fire.
A Mercedes driver started noticing hood smoke while travelling on Lindenlei shortly before noon. As she came to a stop, she saw flames, and then she secured her child before evacuating the vehicle. Both motor vehicles sustained complete destruction when flames spread from the Mercedes to the adjacent Renault Clio within seconds.
The Rand Fire Department reacted promptly to the scene, where they brought the fire under control, thus restricting the damage to two wrecked cars and one scorched tree. All people present, including vehicle passengers and passing individuals, did not suffer injuries during the incident.
Have there been similar car fires in mortsel or nearby areas?
Within recent years, multiple vehicle fires have been documented throughout Mortsel, together with neighbouring Belgian regions, yet most incidents led to minimal damage. An explosion occurred in a parked vehicle in Boechout in 2021 when an electrical error caused it to catch fire, requiring firefighters to respond to the situation. Firefighters put out a van fire, and the subsequent spread to a hedge in Wilrijk in 2022.
Belgian fire services report 1,500 annual vehicle fires, which result from multiple causes, including mechanical problems and arson events. Mortsel’s location in Antwerp province reports more frequent vehicle fires because of its excessive traffic combined with an outdated fleet composition. Vehicle fires resolve most cases safely, yet the quick-fire spread presents particular risks for vehicles near buildings in dense population areas.
