Large Fire in Empty Building in Eindhoven Evacuates Nearby Terraces and Shuts Down Music Festival

In the center of Eindhoven, an empty building is on fire. So much smoke has been released that terraces in the area have been evacuated. A music festival also had to be shut down. The fire department will demolish part of the building so that more targeted extinguishing can be done.

Huge plumes of smoke rose from the very large fire that raged in the Lichtstraat. An NL-Alert was sent at eight o’clock because the smoke was moving over the city center.

For example, the Jumbo branch closed near the front door because of the smoke. And the owner of beer hall Radegast 040 even had to close his tent for the rest of the evening, he confirmed by telephone. “The fire is in an old Philips building. There is such a toxic smoke coming from it.”

Homeless people
Visitors to the Bridge Guitar Festival a little further away have also been sent home, said an employee of Café Wilhelmina. There was a stage in front of the door for performances. “But it was no longer possible. The smoke smells terrible. A very pungent air that smells like burnt plastic.”

Two visitors already had to leave when they just arrived at the festival:

Later that evening, part of the roof collapsed. According to the fire department, the building was often used by homeless people. It is unclear whether they were inside when the fire broke out. Firefighters quickly entered the building, but did not see anyone.

A fire service spokesperson said earlier that extinguishing the fire will take some time. He also reported that more than 100 colleagues have been deployed. There are numerous fire trucks in the Lichtstraat, including three cherry pickers. The police and enforcement have had to send curious people away several times.

The emergency services quickly scaled up to Grip 1. This is a regulation that takes effect in the event of a major incident. Because extinguishing water is taken from the Dommel, the supply hose that is located there causes some traffic nuisance. Grip 2 was announced around ten o’clock because of the traffic and smoke nuisance that had arisen.

The pilot can be considered lost. The fire department will partially demolish the building so that firefighting can be carried out in a targeted manner. That will probably take hours. The spokesperson: “We are preparing to continue well into the night.”

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