Eindhoven building burns down in major fire; No injuries

The fire brigade are in the process of demolishing an empty building in the Lichtstraat in the center of Eindhoven, where a major fire broke out on Saturday evening. Although the fire is now under control, firefighters expect to be busy with damping-down operations until Sunday morning.

We managed to escape from our apartment. I still smell the smoke... #Eindhoven #fire pic.twitter.com/W60eAlflIt

— Gokmen Ucok (@GokmenUcok) May 13, 2023

The fire raged in a building that the fire department said is frequently used by homeless people, a spokesperson reported. According to Marco Karssemakers, VVE chairman of the De Graaf complex, the LAC building had been empty for a long time. "It was very often used to spend the night by people who do not have a roof over their heads. That is quite a problem in the Netherlands, also here in Eindhoven. We have therefore requested that the building be closed several times,“ he told Omroep West.

For some time, there was concern that the fire may have claimed victims, but the entire building was checked and no one was found, the security region reported on Twitter.

The building is located in a busy part of the city with many residential buildings in the immediate vicinity. The fire has released a lot of smoke and there is still a slight smoke emission. According to Omroep Brabant, the terraces of nearby catering establishments were evacuated. More than a 100 firefighters were deployed.

De witte rook werd opeens zwart. #eindhoven pic.twitter.com/XCiyGe9Yad

— Arjan de Vet (@ArjandeVet) May 13, 2023