Izegem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A house with multiple apartments suffered damage from a fire in Izegem last night. An emergency shelter exists within two units of the building to house temporarily homeless people.
An intense fire burned a house in Izegem and completely destroyed one of the emergency accommodation homes. The Vredestraat location on the Centrumbrug bridge area of the Roeselare-Leie Canal saw a fire that led investigators to determine its cause.
The fire brigade discovered extensive flames erupting from the building in Vredestraat at 4 o’clock. The fire took place near Centrumbrug Bridge above the Roeselare-Leie Canal.
“I called the emergency services straight away,”
Testifies one of the neighbours.
“The fire brigade eventually arrived quite quickly. After a while, the electricity in the street went out, which made me panic for a moment.”
“One of the crisis homes has completely burned down, the house next door has been damaged,”
Says Carl Vyncke of the RIHO police zone.
“The public prosecutor was informed, and the house was seized. A fire expert will investigate the circumstances.”
Have there been past apartment fires in Izegem?
Residential areas in Izegem have faced multiple apartment fires throughout recent years, which has raised important fire safety issues. A conflagration occurred at the Kortrijkstraat multi-story apartment complex in 2019, forcing many residents to find alternate accommodations while damaging property extensively.
The fire incident resulted in no injuries and exposed the necessity to strengthen apartment fire safety strategies.
The 2021 apartment building fire near the city centre became an important event that grabbed public attention. The fire persisted due to powerful winds while firefighters battled to subdue it for many hours. The damage to the building resulted in extensive damage to both residential and commercial parts, so multiple residents lost their homes. The inquiry established the fire had started due to electrical issues.
Public officials now stress both fire safety inspection programs and education initiatives in response to these recent fire events. Fire department records indicate that residential fires in Izegem experienced an upward trend during the last decade, and electrical problems and unattended cooking accidents emerged as the main causes. The Vredestraat emergency housing unit faced destruction after a recent fire, triggering expanded conversations about enhancing safety regulations for buildings used by vulnerable people.
