Two children, two adults hospitalized after fire in Almelo apartment complex

A large fire left two apartments uninhabitable on Thorbeckelaan in Almelo on Tuesday evening. Four people, including a baby and another child, were taken to a hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation. Paramedics checked a fifth person at the scene, the Twente fire department said.

The fire started in one of the apartments. According to Tubantia, the resident woke to find his home filled with flames. He quickly alerted his upstairs neighbors and got the family, including a baby and a child, outside with him.

The fire department received the first report of the blaze on Thorbeckelaan around 10:00 p.m. and responded with three fire engines. Firefighters worked quickly, preventing the blaze from spreading to other flats and getting it under control by around 11:00 p.m.

The fire completely destroyed the apartment it started in. The residents of six flats couldn’t return to their homes last night and found shelter with family or friends in the area, the fire department said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.