Video: Raging fire in Rotterdam warehouse prompts NL-Alert
Firefighters were busy Wednesday morning battling an intense fire in a wood storage facility on Keileweg in Rotterdam. The fire was first reported at 7:30 a.m. and quickly spread through the building. Authorities sent out an NL-Alert to people in the area, cautioning them about the situation.
The fire was so intense that the windows of nearby buildings also shattered, melting the lettering on the signage for the Praxis and Atelier Van Lieshout, according to Rijnmond. The alarm for the fire in Rotterdam-West was quickly elevated, and categorized as a very large fire just minutes after firefighters were sent to the scene. It was elevated again to a Grip 1 regional emergency at about 7:40 a.m.
There were no known injuries, regional safety officials said. Despite the flames raging through the wood storage facility, the fire did not spread to other buildings, firefighters said. “The fire service is protecting the surrounding buildings with a water screen.”
A Grip 1 is a protocol for handling large incidents in which various emergency services are involved. It calls for the first responders to unify under a single commander.
The NL-Alert was sent out for the fire just after 8 a.m. warning residents, workers and visitors across Rotterdam to stay out of the smoke. The warning told people to close their windows and doors, and to turn off ventilation systems if they are negatively affected by the smoke while indoors.
The warning was sent to people in the city center, but also Rotterdam-West, Kralingen-Crooswijk and Kralingen-Oost, as well as those near the Erasmus Bridge. Those in Delfshaven, Schiedam, Kop van Zuid and Oud-IJsselmonde may have also received the alert depending on their location.
