Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper)- A June 26 power outage at FGP Noordersingel trapped one person and forced evacuation. Now, Antwerp federal police can’t enter the building as a new generator blocks an emergency exit.
As VRT News reported, Antwerp federal police are no longer allowed to enter their building. After the significant power outage, a new emergency generator was installed in the FGP building located at the Noordersingel, but it is not appropriately sited. It was situated directly in front of one of the emergency exits, which raises concerns for many of the staff. The people who installed the generator said that there was no other place for it.
They explained that there had to be enough space around it, and the cables needed to be short enough to work well. Because of these limits, they could not place the generator in another spot without risking problems if it needed to be used during an emergency. They mentioned that the main goal was to quickly restore backup power after Thursday’s total blackout, but now this placement is raising new safety questions.
What happens when a generator blocks a police HQ exit?
A prevention advisor has looked at the new setup and said that the generator’s current place might be good for now. This is because there are other emergency exits close by that people could use if needed. But this is not fully approved yet.
Officials said that the fire brigade has yet to confirm if one exit can be blocked under the safety rules, which they can’t say until Monday, 30th of June 2025, and until this is resolved, the building is closed for the entire weekend. Because of this, all investigators who have to work this weekend will move to other offices in the province.
A major power failure caused chaos at the FGP building on the Noordersingel on Thursday, June 26, 2025. The outage, which began around 10:00 a.m., plunged the entire building into darkness because the emergency generator failed to activate. Police officers were forced to use their mobile phone flashlights to navigate the building. One person was trapped in an elevator and had to be rescued by the fire department.
Due to the complete loss of power, the building was evacuated, and all staff members were sent home. They mentioned that the situation was worsened by the failure of the emergency lighting and the evacuation alarm, which confused employees during the evacuation. The power outage also briefly affected the nearby Sinksenfoor fair, demonstrating the wide impact of the technical issue.
