Shopping center fire in Groningen town; over 100 evacuated
Over a hundred people were evacuated from their homes due to a major fire in a shopping center in the Groningen town of Musselkanaal. The fire started in a bicycle shop around 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night and quickly spread to other stores. The fire is still burning, but firefighters have it under control, NOS reports.
"There will soon be a crane on site to pull down the walls, so we can extinguish better", a spokesperson for the fire brigade said to the broadcaster. The shopping center contains nine stores and restaurants.
A total of 85 people were evacuated from an adjacent residential care center due to smoke. The residents of 24 other houses also had to leave their homes. "The evacuation was fantastic", the spokesperson said. "Many volunteers came to help." Some of the evacuated residents were taken in by family members, others were sheltered at another location of the care center.
According to the fire brigade, the fire is difficult to extinguish due to the layout of the shopping center. "It's a compact shopping center", the spokesperson said. "We can work around the building, but at one point the fire moved inside. Then we could only try to prevent the fire from spreading further." He expects that the extinguishing will take until Friday afternoon.
Woonzorgcentrum in Musselkanaal ontruimd vanwege grote brand: 84 bewoners van een woonzorgcentrum in Musselkanaal zijn afgelopen nacht uit het gebouw gehaald vanwege een grote brand in meerdere winkels. https://t.co/WbTEC6pxpz pic.twitter.com/DUQNczOGD0
— drenthe (@drenthe) September 21, 2018
Tientallen woningen ontruimd door brand winkelpand Musselkanaal https://t.co/cpxp0ynykf via @olijfoliekreta #kreta #olijfolie pic.twitter.com/eHtVpQfmvC
— Olijfolie Manolakis (@olijfoliekreta) September 21, 2018
Verpleeghuis ontruimd na brand in Musselkanaal. https://t.co/pDx8ey30sc
— NL Nieuws (@NieuwsNu123) September 21, 2018
In het Groningse Musselkanaal heeft een grote brand gewoed. Vanwege rookontwikkeling heeft de brandweer een naastgelegen verpleeghuis ontruimd.
Iets na 23.00 uur rukte de brandweer uit naar de bra... pic.twitter.com/Ud1QmP2r13
Hart van Musselkanaal zwaar getroffen. Drama... pic.twitter.com/cIixOogwqW
— Anita (@Anietjuh67) September 21, 2018