Five people are dead after a fire ripped through a residential building in the Antwerp port district early this morning. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 3 a.m. local time, when flames engulfed the lower floors of a six-storey block in the city’s historic centre. Sources confirm that among the victims are two children, aged four and seven, along with three adults. The blaze is now under control, but the building is structurally compromised, with parts of the facade collapsing into the street.
Investigators from the federal police and the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office have launched a full inquiry. At this stage, the cause of the fire is not yet known. However, sources close to the investigation have told me that the speed and intensity of the blaze have raised suspicions. Several residents reported hearing a series of loud pops before the fire took hold. One witness, who asked not to be named, described seeing a man fleeing the scene moments before the flames became visible.
“It went up so fast, like it was fuelled by something,” the witness said. “I saw a figure running away, but it was dark and I couldn’t make out any details.”
Belgian authorities are now combing through CCTV footage from the area and conducting door-to-door inquiries. The building had a mixed occupancy: ground-floor shops, including a kebab takeaway and a convenience store, with residential units above. Many of the residents are migrants, mostly from North Africa and Eastern Europe. The city’s mayor, Bart De Wever, has promised a full investigation and has declared three days of mourning.
But this isn’t just a tragic accident. I’ve covered enough fires in my time to know that when a blaze in a modern building kills five people before they can even get out of bed, something is wrong. Fire safety regulations in Belgium are strict. Sprinklers are mandatory in all buildings higher than four storeys. Rapid spread like this suggests either a failure of those systems or something more deliberate.
I have obtained documents from the city’s building registry that show the property was cited for fire code violations just last year. The violations included blocked emergency exits and inoperative smoke detectors on two floors. The building’s owner, a company registered in Luxembourg called “Portside Properties SA,” paid a fine but never rectified the issues. The same company owns at least a dozen other buildings in the district, several of which have also been flagged for safety breaches.
When I reached out to Portside Properties for comment, a representative declined to answer specific questions, saying only that they were “cooperating fully with authorities.” That’s the standard line from people who have something to hide.
This is a developing story. I will be digging deeper into the ownership structure of that building, its safety record, and the possibility that this fire was not an accident. The bodies are still warm, and the money trail is already cold. Stay tuned.
