In a blaze that has left six souls charred and the European Union's regulatory framework looking more porous than a sieve, Antwerp's latest disaster has handed satirists a tragedy too grim for punchlines. The fire, which erupted in a residential block that was apparently built using hopes, prayers, and a single fire extinguisher from 1983, has sparked the usual round of solemn inquiries and bureaucratic twiddling.
Witnesses described scenes of chaotic heroism and bureaucratic failure, with firefighters arriving to find that the building's fire escapes were merely decorative, like the EU's promises on safety regulations. "It's a tragedy," said one official, his voice cracking, perhaps from grief, perhaps from years of ignoring the warnings.
The incident has reopened the festering wound of EU building safety standards, which have been criticised for being as effective as a chocolate fireguard. Meanwhile, politicians have emerged from their glass towers to offer thoughts, prayers, and a commitment to form a committee to investigate the possibility of a future investigation.
As the smoke clears over Antwerp, one thing is certain: the EU's building safety standards will remain as elusive as a sensible Brexit plan, and six families will be left to mourn in a continent that promised safety but delivered only hot air.
