Major fires in Haarlem and Almere trigger NL-Alerts; Almere blaze still out of control
The emergency services issued NL Alerts for two major fires in Almere and Haarlem. Firefighters are still trying to get the blaze in a thrift store and clothing storage unit on an industrial terrain in Almere under control. The fire in an appliance store in Haarlem has been extinguished. Locals in both municipalities are urged to stay out of the smoke. As far as is known, no one got hurt.
The fire on Vlotburgweg in the industrial estate De Vaart in Almere Buiten broke out at around 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Firefighters responded from Almere, Lelystad, and Dronten, getting back up from brigades from the Gooi en Vechtstreek on Wednesday morning.
They’re still struggling to get the blaze under control. Flames were still coming from the roof at around 6:00 a.m., Omroep Flevoland reported. Three buildings have been burnt out. The Flevoland Fire Department expects to be fighting the blaze throughout the morning.
The emergency services issued an NL Alert for people living and working around De Vaart, warning them to stay out of the large clouds of black smoke billowing from the fire. “That is the dangerous part. People should definitely stay away from that. These are plastics and insulation materials,” spokesperson Geertjan Veenstra of the Flevoland fire brigade told the broadcaster. He urges people working on the industrial estate to rather work from home. “And close windows and doors. This smoke is really bad for your health.”
The fire in Haarlem broke out at the Witgoedstore, an appliance store on Surinameweg, at around 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The fire department sent out an NL-Alert to locals, urging them to keep their windows and doors closed and stay out of the smoke.
The large fire spread through the store very quickly, and firefighters worried that it would spread to adjacent buildings. But they managed to prevent that. At 8:00 a.m., Veiligheidsregio Kennemerland, the local safety office for the emergency services, reported that the fire had been extinguished.
