Fire breaks out in warehouse in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, plume of smoke can be seen far into the area

The fire broke out around 3:45 p.m., the mayor of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw tells VRT NWS, in a shed where cars are dismantled. Apparently something went wrong during grinding work on a vehicle: fuel that was still in a tank apparently caught fire. The company owner first tried to extinguish the fire himself, but to no avail.

The fire in the Jan Baptist Wautersstraat quickly spread into a raging fire, with large smoke development that can be seen in the wider area. “Witnesses heard many explosions and when our teams arrived on site, it turned out to be a raging fire,” says Wouter Jeanfils of the local fire brigade. On the advice of the fire brigade, the municipal disaster plan was quickly announced.

According to the company boss, the employees of the company that was located in the warehouse were all able to get to safety. As far as is known, no injuries were reported. Only the owner of the company suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital for evaluation.