Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): On July 26 Jolien’s carpet caught fire from an overheated drill battery. She evacuated her children safely but the incident underscores rising fire risks in Brussels due to aging buildings.
On Friday July 26 at around 6 a.m., Jolien, a 29-year-old woman woke up unexpectedly with her two children in their apartment in Anderlecht. She discovered that an old carpet had caught fire due to an overheated drill battery on the floor. Acting quickly she got her kids outside while a neighbor called the fire department and tried to help extinguish the flames. The damage was limited to a blackened floor and a partially burned cupboard but the entire apartment was filled with smoke and covered in soot leaving the clothes musty. As a result, the family had to move back in with Jolien’s parents. She couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if she hadn’t woken up especially since the smoke detectors had been waiting to be installed for months.
What factors are contributing to the rising fire incidents in Brussels?
The Brussels fire brigade is very quick to respond to emergencies and has already handled nearly 500 house fires this year. If this keeps up 2024 might see even more fires than last year’s total of 743. The number of fire incidents has jumped a lot from 2,204 in 2012 to 3,813 in 2022. Brussels-City had the most fires last year with 183 and so far this year there have been 117. Other areas like Saint-Gilles, Saint-Agatha-Berchem, Schaerbeek, Anderlecht and Molenbeek also have many fires, with Anderlecht averaging around 80 each year. Peter Roseleth, who focuses on fire safety points out that many homes in Brussels are old and lack fire safety rules making them more likely to catch fire. People often can’t afford smoke detectors and sometimes cook indoors to save money which is very risky. Modern furniture can catch fire quickly while older pieces take longer to burn making it tougher for firefighters to control the situation.
“Modern furniture made of foam and glue can be ablaze in three minutes”
(Peter Roseleth, Director of the Prevention Department)
Derieuw explains that using wood in buildings can be risky which led to its ban in the Middle Ages to prevent large fires. In Brussels squatted buildings pose a challenge for firefighters as they often don’t know how many people are inside, making it dangerous for them to check, highlighted by the tragic death of two firefighters in 2008. After a fire victims face a tough cleanup and the fire department provides information about their rights. Fire insurance is available to cover damages but it’s not mandatory and it can help with incidents like a mini-bar fire though it won’t cover fires set on purpose. While city residents might seem at higher risk for fires insurance costs are the same across Brussels Flanders, and Wallonia, as they consider the number of claims relative to homes.
