Fire in Anderlecht apartment building forces evacuation of 60 residents

Outbreak and initial emergency alert

Around 1:30 AM in the night between Saturday and Sunday, emergency services received an alert regarding a fire producing dense smoke in a residential building on Rue Ropsy Chaudron in Anderlecht. The fire occurred within a six-storey apartment complex, originating in the vicinity of the waste room. Firefighters from the Brussels Fire Department, along with medical personnel and the Brussels-Midi police zone, deployed to the address. Upon arrival, emergency crews found that many residents had already vacated the building, while others were actively leaving into the street. Firefighters located the base of the fire near the garbage facilities and extinguished it quickly.

Emergency response and evacuation

Approximately 60 residents were evacuated from the apartment building during the overnight operation. Officers from the Brussels-Midi police zone, covering Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles, and Forest, established a safety perimeter around the site and assisted in clearing the building. Because several occupants experienced smoke inhalation symptoms and dozens required immediate assistance, emergency officials activated the Medical Intervention Plan following consultation with the Mobile Urgency Group doctor.

Given the large number of evacuated people, about 60 residents, and the fact that several people presented symptoms after inhaling smoke, the medical intervention plan was triggered in consultation with the emergency doctor.

Officials also triggered a priority alert under the internal emergency plan of the Brussels Fire Department, alongside the psychosocial intervention plan. Medical teams examined several affected residents directly on the scene. None of the evacuated occupants sustained injuries severe enough to require transport to a hospital.

Shelter and building ventilation

To accommodate the displaced occupants during the emergency, authorities requisitioned a public transit bus from the STIB/MIVB to serve as a temporary reception area. Smoke had penetrated the stairwells and spread across multiple residential floors, requiring emergency teams to conduct lengthy clearing operations. Fire crews spent a considerable amount of time ventilating the shared spaces and stairwells of the six-storey structure. After firefighters thoroughly ventilated the communal hallways and verified that carbon monoxide levels were safe, residents were permitted to return to their apartments one by one.

Structural safety violations and investigation

During the response, Brussels firefighters identified severe deficiencies in the building's fire safety measures. Several fire-resistant doors had been removed entirely, and holes had been cut through walls and ceilings across various floors. Fire officials determined that these deliberate alterations severely undermined the building's fire compartmentalisation and actively facilitated the spread of smoke through the hallways.

These deliberate damages to the building severely compromised the fire compartmentalisation and encouraged the spread of smoke.

Furthermore, the residential building's smoke extraction system did not function correctly during the incident, and responding crews found no smoke detectors installed within the property. The Brussels Fire Department forwarded documentation of these structural and safety violations to the competent municipal services for formal review. The precise cause and ignition source of the fire remain undetermined and under active investigation.