Over one hundred firefighters had been called to the scene to bring an end to the flames, completing the job before anybody was injured. The city centre had to be closed while emergency services were busy trying to save as much of the top floor as possible. Inquiries into the origin of the fire are now underway, while inhabitants of the residential building have to wait until Monday to find out whether they can go back to their homes or not.
Henri Haine, mayor of Rumelange, commented: "I was alerted about the fire shortly before 6 pm. By the time I arrived at the scene, firefighters were already securing the perimeters and taking care of the flames."
A resident of the building, Luis Miguel Araujo Ramos, was able to recount the events of the evening: "When I came home from work, I was just about to get out of the shower when somebody rang the doorbell and alerted us about the fire." Ramos had only moved into the building recently with his four-year-old daughter.
It took emergency services over six hours to get a hold of the fire and secure the building. Due to the proximity of neighbouring houses, firefighters had to be cautious to not let the flames spread over.
The origin of the fire remains unknown at this stage, but investigations are underway. First estimations made at the scene suspect the fire to have started on one of the balconies. It is not yet clear when residents will be able to get back into their apartments, but they should receive an answer on Monday.
Mayor Haine provided further insight into the developments: "The police has accompanied the inhabitants on Friday to collect a few things from their homes. Nonetheless, nobody is allowed to move back in just yet. We have to wait for the team of experts to assess the safety of the building on Monday."
Water damage is considered to be high on the top floors of the building, which will remain uninhabitable for at least three weeks. Currently, 43 residents from 23 families are temporarily staying in Esch and Rumelange until a long-term solution can be found: "Fortunately, we are well set-up with social housing in Rumelange. We are working on finding an adequate solution for everybody in and around the municipality", mayor Haine explained.
The mayor offered his gratitude to the CGDIS and police forces for getting the situation under control as fast as they did.
