Explosion preceded fire at Soest City Hall building

An explosion caused a brief, but fierce fire in the Soest city hall overnight, damaging the central hall of the building to such an extent that it couldn't open to citizens on Tuesday. The perpetrators broke a window and threw an explosive inside, according to AD.

The fire department responded to the city hall around midnight, according to the local safety office, Veiligheidsregio Utrecht. “The fire was brought under control very quickly but still caused a lot of damage. The damage to the offices and counter space will have consequences for the municipality’s services.”

Gemeentehuis Soest dicht na ontploffing en brand, veel schade aan kantoren en balieruimte https://t.co/Tc895l6czM

— InfoDocMan (@InfoDocMan) November 28, 2023

Mayor Rob Metz confirmed that in a statement published on Tuesday morning. The city hall is closed to citizens on Tuesday. “We will do everything we can to get the public desks elsewhere in the building operational as quickly as possible. People who had an appointment today will be contacted by telephone to reschedule,” he said.

“I am extremely shocked by the consequences of the fire,” Metz said. “Fortunately, after the coronavirus, almost all employees have the option to work from home, so much of the work can continue.” He added that passports and other valuable documents and data are in the safe and unaffected by the fire.

According to AD, firefighters discovered a broken window with a fire raging behind it and quickly determined that there had been an explosion. The explosive was thrown into an office at the back of the city hall. In the central hall, two offices away, the ceiling above the public counters had collapsed.

Explosie ging vooraf aan brand in gemeentehuis Soest https://t.co/ysLYCoWs4M

— Hart van Nederland (@HartvNL) November 28, 2023