A raging fire shuts down our bakery: "We can no longer bake bread, I even fear for the survival of our bakery."
We reported the fire just before seven o'clock on Sunday evening. “We were preheating our ovens when we saw smoke development,” says manager Dominique Verstraete. “At first we thought there was a loaf of bread left in the ovens, but after a while we realized there was something loose in the attic above the oven. When we went there to take a look, we saw that a fire had started. We immediately notified the fire brigade.”
The fire brigade was quickly on site, but shortly after arrival the fire broke through the roof. The fire was attacked with all its might from two sides.
“We have called in extra teams and an extra tanker,” says Thomas Tomme. “But the fire, which was located in the flour attic on the second floor, had progressed too far. We had to let it burn out in a controlled manner. The solar panels on the roof did not make it easy to fight the fire. Ultimately, part of the roof collapsed, fortunately it was limited to the attic. And there is a lot of water damage.”
The matter was under control around 9 p.m. on Sunday evening, but the fire still had to be extinguished for a while to save as much of the bakery's equipment as possible.
However, we fear for our bakery. “The fire started in one of the four ovens, an old brick oven that is more than 100 years old. I fear for that oven, as well as the rest of our equipment. We will no longer bake bread tonight and I even fear for the survival of the bakery.”
On Monday 18/12 it will be clear what can still be saved from our shop/studio, which has been active in Bellegem since 1954. “We work here with five people and bake fresh bread and pastries every day. We supply to Delhaize, but also to other customers. I hope it's not too bad. The damage is significant. Reinvesting means 150,000 euros per oven. We will see tomorrow exactly what steps we need to take.”
The Walleweg in Bellegem was closed to traffic all evening. It may be that way for the rest of the night.
(Article from Het Nieuwsblad: https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20231217_97799837)