The damage initially appeared minor, but firefighters have since announced that it is difficult to bring the fire under control as it can only be extinguished from the outside.
The fire men ask passers-by and residents not to approach and to leave the area free for the emergency services. Residents of the surrounding area were also asked to close their doors and windows, in view of the heavy smoke released by the fire. He was finally “almost brought under control” around 8:10 p.m., firefighters told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“It’s a disaster,” reacted to our colleagues the rector of the university, Herman Van Goethem, who went there. “For security reasons, we cannot enter the library, to put what is there in safety,” he lamented. Antwerp mayor Bart de Wever, who also went to the scene of the fire, also judged the situation “catastrophic”: “I fear that the fire brigade will be busy until tomorrow morning”.
The two men also recalled the symbolism of the burning building, one of the oldest on the UAntwerpen campus. It has significant historical value for the university, the oldest part dating from the 17th century.
One of the workers who was busy on the building site was injured in the fire. He was taken to hospital for burns.