Care center fires leave 1 dead, 1 hurt; Fireworks to blame in one

One person was killed in a fire in an assisted-living apartment building in the Gelderland town of Buren early on Monday morning. And a 77-year-old resident of a care center in Zeist was injured in a fire the police believe was caused by fireworks.

The Buren fire broke out around 5:45 a.m. on the top floor of the apartment complex, located on Concorde, a spokesperson for local safety office Veiligheidsregio Gelderland-Zuid confirmed to newspaper AD. Several fire trucks and ambulances responded. The residents and their counselors were evacuated and given shelter elsewhere. Firefighters had the fire under control by 7:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is still unclear. The police are investigating.

The fire in a care center on Johan van Oldebarneveltlaan in Zeist broke out around 1:10 a.m., the police said in a statement. Investigators believe that the fire was caused by a firework that ended up on the building's balcony. The fire spread to the home where the 77-year-old man was sleeping. Firefighters rescued the man from the home and he was taken to hospital with minor burns. The police are investigating whether the firework was thrown onto the balcony deliberately and call on witnesses to come forward.