Fire makes social housing unit uninhabitable; family of five moves to hotel

A severe fire has left a social housing property in Aalbeke, near Kortrijk, Belgium, completely uninhabitable. The family residing in the home, which includes five children, has been forced to spend the night in a hotel as a result of the extensive damage.

The blaze reportedly started on the first floor at the rear of the corner house on Nachtegaalstraat and quickly spread to a rear veranda. Despite the resident's attempts to extinguish the fire themselves, their efforts were unsuccessful. Firefighters arrived on the scene and eventually brought the situation under control.

Crucially, the fire department managed to prevent the flames from spreading to the neighboring property. After extinguishing the main fire, crews remained on site for some time to ensure no hotspots remained and removed a significant portion of the roof insulation to prevent any resurgence of the fire.

The social housing company, SW+, which owns the property, is now tasked with finding a new home for the affected family. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown and is currently under investigation. No injuries were reported in the incident.