Rescue in Anderlecht on Wednesday evening. A fire broke out in an 18-storey apartment building located in the city of Peterbos in Anderlecht. 9 people were poisoned. Firefighters rescued a mother and her baby who were trapped on their balcony.
The flames ravaged the 6th floor of the building when screams rang out. A woman wanted to escape the smoke, her baby in her arms. Stuck, she tried to step over the railing. The firefighters who rescued him first had to move two cars that were blocking the ladder truck.
“Residents, police, paramedics and firefighters lifted the cars and moved them. There was a lot of emotion and panic, but it turned into a willful and determined action”explained Walter Derieuw, the spokesperson for the Brussels fire brigade.
The firefighters managed to deploy the ladder and rescue the mother and her child. “I understand the lady. She opened the door to her apartment. There was a lot of smoke. She went back to her apartment, but she didn’t close the door. The smoke followed and her basic survival instinct which took over the rational and she wanted to save her baby,” says Walter Derieuw.
The fire was brought under control around 10 p.m. The exact cause of the fire is not yet known.