Multiple fires overnight with New Year’s fast approaching; Fireworks, arson investigated

Several fires were sparked in various places around the Netherlands on the night before New Year's Eve, including one at a sports hall in Reeuwijk. According to the Hollands Midden Security Region, a fire broke out at De Meerkoet sports hall on Buitenomweg at around 10:15 p.m. Fireworks on the roof of the gym are believed to have caused the fire.

The fire department’s response was scaled up as the fire became more intense, with first responders deploying additional personnel and equipment. The fire was brought under control quickly, according to the emergency services office.

According to Omroep Brabant, two cars were again set on fire in Veen on Thursday around 9:30 p.m. Cars are regularly set on fire there around the New Year’s holiday, including on Wednesday evening. The Wijk en Aalburg fire brigade extinguished the fire, after which the wrecks were towed away.

In Almelo, the Twente fire brigade extinguished a fire which spread to several fire vehicles in a garage at an apartment building on Gerard Doustraat. It was scaled up to a major fire, and the fire was quickly extinguished. Some residents were rescued from their balconies for safety reasons, Tubantia reported. There were no known injuries.

Earlier in the evening, a fire broke out in an apartment building unit on Herman Gorterhof in Delft at about 7:30 p.m. The fire was discovered by the resident himself in the utility cupboard, the Haaglanden fire brigade said. The fire on the seventh floor of the apartment building was struck out. Three adjacent homes, including the unit below the fire, were evacuated and examined by fire department crews. Those residents were allowed to return to their homes, but the home where the blaze occurred was still uninhabitable. 

In Harskamp, ​​a fire raged in an empty house on Laarweg, causing considerable smoke development. The fire was largely under control, reported the Gelderland Midden fire brigade.