Devastating fire in Arnhem city center finally extinguished
The massive fire that raged in the center of Arnhem has been completely extinguished, Veiligheidsregio Gelderland-Midden reported during the early hours of Friday morning, almost exactly 24 hours after the fire started. There are no known victims. No remains have been found so far, and no one is missing.
The fire started at a SoLow store on Jansstraat at around 3:45 a.m. on Thursday. Because the old buildings in the historic city center are made of wood, the blaze spread quickly and burned intensely. Firefighters managed to contain and reduce the fire by Thursday afternoon, but a fire source at the top of one of the buildings remained inaccessible.
“There are a lot of beams, and if oxygen gets to it, it quickly lights up again. Then you can keep throwing water on it from outside, but if you do not get to the core, it becomes difficult,” a spokesperson for the Veiligheidsregio, the office that covers the local emergency services, told NOS.
Due to the risk of collapse, firefighters could only extinguish the fire from outside the building. At around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, a structural engineer deemed the building safe enough, and firefighters entered to continue their work. At 3:20 a.m., they declared the fire extinguished.
An aerial platform and a fire engine remain in the area to take action if anything flares up again.
Now that the fire is out, the extent of the damage can be examined on Friday morning. The building where the fire started has been completely destroyed, but the other buildings may be salvageable.
