Fire in Maassluis apartment building: One killed, two firefighters hurt

One person died in a fire in an apartment building in Maasluis on Tuesday. The authorities believe the victim was the resident of the flat where the fire started. Two firefighters got hurt while fighting the fire, Rijnmond reports.

The fire started at around 8:00 a.m. on the third floor of the building on Jongkindstraat. It spread to the fourth floor and some surrounding apartments. One firefighter sustained minor injuries when he forced the door of the apartment where the fire started. Another became unwell due to the heat.

"When the first colleagues arrived, flames broke out at the font and the back of the building. There was a lot of smoke," a spokesperson for the local security region, Veiligheidsregio Rotterdam-Rijnmond said to the broadcaster.

The fire brigade evacuated twelve homes. Paramedics examined the evacuated residents. The fire department is checking their homes for the presence of harmful substances.