About 40 students evacuated from their homes after fire in student building

Dozens of residents of a student apartment on Slotermeerlaan in Amsterdam Nieuw-West were not able to spend Christmas Eve at home because a fire broke out in a meter cabinet on Saturday. Because of the smoke and soot damage, about 40 students had to be housed elsewhere. In total, there were 200 student apartments in the building, but because of the holidays, many residents already spent the weekend elsewhere, a spokesperson of the fire department said.

The fire broke out around 11:20 a.m. in a meter cupboard in the basement of the student building. It released a lot of smoke and the apartment had to be evacuated. Two residents who inhaled smoke were examined by paramedics, according to a spokesperson

The fire department handed over the aftercare of the fire to Woonzorg, the owner of the building. They now must assess if and when it will be safe enough for residents to return to their homes. It is not yet known how long that will take and the cause of the fire is also still unclear.