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The fire broke out just before 10:00 local time, equivalent to 08:00 GMT, on Wednesday in the Linkeroever district of Antwerp. Thick smoke was seen billowing from the eighth floor of the 10-storey block. Belgian police confirmed through the BBC that a number of people died while others were injured in the incident. Firefighters arrived at the scene and initiated rescue operations for trapped residents. The scale of the building added complexity to evacuation procedures across multiple floors.
Resident Geert Dewulf told Belgian public television that thick smoke stopped him from getting out of his flat. Dewulf and others barricaded themselves inside the flat before moving to the balcony. The fire brigade rescued them from the balcony using a ladder approximately 10 minutes later. The resident’s account was shared shortly after the blaze began according to the broadcaster. This testimony provided early insight into conditions inside the affected units.
The BBC reported the event as several killed and injured in fire at Antwerp apartment building. The outlet detailed that more than 200 people live in the block where the fire started. Emergency teams focused initial efforts on the upper floors where smoke was most concentrated. No immediate details on the precise casualty count were released by authorities in the first hours. The response involved coordination among multiple fire units in the city.
This incident adds to a series of fatal residential fires in the Antwerp region in recent years. Brussels Morning reported that a 56-year-old man died in an apartment fire on Van de Wervestraat in February 2025 after flames started on the first floor. A fire on Zwarte Leeuwstraat in Bonheiden during May 2025 claimed one life, destroyed two apartments and injured several others, according to Ground News summaries of local coverage. Those events prompted ongoing reviews of safety compliance in older housing stock. Antwerp fire services have handled multiple such cases over the past 18 months.
Nationally Belgium has recorded progress in reducing house fire fatalities. The CTIF annual report published in January 2026 showed 55 deaths in fatal house fires for 2025. This marked a sharp decline from the 75 fatalities registered in 2024. The figures were compiled from data across the country by the international association of fire services. Earlier statistics from Oscare had placed the 2023 toll at around 60 deaths according to reports in The Brussels Times.
Fire safety statistics across Europe indicate longer-term improvements in residential building protections. The Modern Building Alliance analysis found that fire fatalities dropped by 65 percent over the last 30 years due to enhanced national measures. Comparable reductions included a 56 percent fall in the United Kingdom between 1982 and 2013 per the same data set. Belgium’s recent annual declines align with these regional patterns. Authorities in Antwerp are expected to update the public on the Linkeroever investigation in coming days.
