Residents warned of asbestos after wide-scale Amersfoort fire

Asbestos was released in a large fire that destroyed three warehouses in Amersfoort on Friday morning. Local residents are warned to stay inside, keep windows and doors closed and turn of ventilation. The fire broke out around 2:00 a.m. in an industrial estate on Computerweg and Plotterweg, according to RTV Utrecht. By around 6:00 a.m. firefighters managed to get the fire under control to such an extent that it stopped spreading to other buildings. So far no injuries were reported. The affected warehouses belong to a furniture store, a car dealership and a kindergarten, according to news wire ANP. Another part of the kindergarten is located in a nearby building. It is unclear whether this building was damaged by the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown, but so far it looks like it started in the car dealership. One home was evacuated as a precaution. Due to the asbestos, the emergency services also closed down a large part of the industrial estate. This could mean that a number of people will not be able to go to work on Friday. As far as is known, no asbestos landed in residential areas. Train traffic on a nearby railway was halted due to the fire. But according to NOS, trains between Amersfoort and Barneveld are running again. https://twitter.com/JeroenvdVeer/status/730953371247628288

Zeer grote brand verwoest bedrijfsverzamelgebouw op #Hoefseweg in #Amersfoort. Video online: https://t.co/TQeDlZPmr3 pic.twitter.com/MOkCRTJQbX

— Luke Beens (@LukeBNV) May 13, 2016

Enorme vlammen en knallen bij grote brand autobedrijf Hoefseweg https://t.co/lKF5TQEwLV #Amersfoort #112Nieuws pic.twitter.com/qnRACO5t2g

— 112Nijkerk (@112Nijkerk) May 13, 2016

Asbest vrijgekomen bij grote brand Amersfoort, bedrijven dicht: https://t.co/NvRAIOxApP #r1jn #NPORadio1 pic.twitter.com/3iKvqCqGnb

— NPO Radio 1 (@NPORadio1) May 13, 2016