Resident sets burning barbecue in motion: apartment building briefly evacuated (Ninove)

Heavy smoke development in apartment in Ninove – Video: Chris Bosseloo. — © Het Nieuwsblad

In Burchtstraat, all residents of an apartment building were temporarily evacuated after strong smoke development was noticed in the building. There was no real fire and no injuries were reported.

It was around 10:15 p.m. that heavy smoke developed on the second floor of the De Cooman social apartments in Burchtstraat. The smoke detectors sounded the alarm and fire teams from Ninove and Denderleeuw rushed to the scene, together with the MUG and several ambulances.

Barbecue

All residents were evacuated as a precaution, but no one was injured or overcome by the smoke. After inspection of the entire building by the fire brigade, it turned out that there was no source of fire. “The smoke development came from a barbecue that one of the residents had lit. The resulting smoke soon filled the apartment, after which the resident panicked and placed the barbecue basket in the hallway, causing the smoke to spread throughout the entire building,” the fire brigade said. (Read more below the photo)

Due to the incident, Burchtstraat was closed to all traffic for a while. The police set up a security perimeter. After thorough ventilation of the building, all residents were able to return to their apartments just after midnight.