Video: Fire breaks out in Amsterdam apartment complex; Top 3 floors evacuated

A large fire was raging at an apartment complex on Barcelonaplein on KNSM Island in Amsterdam Oost on Thursday afternoon. Photos from the scene showed a great deal of smoke. Many emergency services workers responded to the fire alarm, which was scaled up several times in the early afternoon hours.

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Firefighters evacuated the top three floors of the building, according to AT5. "That's a lot of homes," a spokesperson for the fire department said to Parool. "The people are all outside on the street in a safe area." Two people suffered from smoke inhalation. Paramedics checked them over at the scene.

“I was shocked,” said Yasmina, a Barcelonaplein resident, in an interview with Parool. “I was sick at home and suddenly the neighbors knocked on the door because there was a fire. Then I saw flames from the roof.”

“I heard a fire truck, but you hear that often, right?” another neighbor told the newspaper. “Until I got a call from my son, who just came running from the bus. Only then did I understand.”

The fire broke out at around 12:20 p.m. The emergency services escalated the situation to Grip 1 at 12:40 p.m. This means that all emergency services report to a single commanding officer to keep the response organized. Several fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles are at the scene. A police helicopter was also circling above the complex.

At 1:20 p.m., the fire department reported that the smoke was decreasing, but firefighters were still struggling to get the fire under control. The cause of the fire is still unclear.

The fire department advised locals who can smell smoke to keep their windows and doors closed and turn off the ventilation.