Severe fire destroys barn in Wechelderzande; neighboring house uninhabitable

A fierce fire ravaged a barn in Wechelderzande, Belgium, during the early hours of Wednesday morning. The blaze, which broke out shortly before 1 a.m. in the Gebroeders De Winterstraat, quickly engulfed a wooden structure behind a house. Firefighters from the Taxandria emergency services zone responded with substantial resources to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to adjacent properties.

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Upon arrival, it was clear it was a fierce fire. We had to deploy many resources to protect the surrounding houses.

The intensity of the fire led to its spread to a neighboring barn, resulting in its complete destruction. The house adjacent to the fire sustained considerable smoke damage, rendering it temporarily uninhabitable. As a result, two residents from different living units within the building have been displaced and are being provided with temporary shelter. One individual who inhaled smoke was briefly hospitalized but has since returned home.

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Only the barn is lost. The house nearby suffered a lot of smoke damage.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze around 4 a.m. A crane was used to safely dismantle the unstable structure of the barn to ensure the adjacent road could be reopened. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown and is currently under investigation by local police and the Antwerp public prosecutor's office. The Gebroeders De Winterstraat was closed for several hours in both directions due to the incident.

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One resident had inhaled a lot of smoke and also had to go to the hospital for a short time, but that man has since returned.