Irish exchange students killed in fire
Speaking from the scene of the fire, the VRT's Jens Franssen told Flandersnews.be that "The fire service is spraying water onto the rubble. Part of the building has been completely destroyed, which made it difficult to reach the rooms in the attic."
For a long time there was no sign of the two missing students. However, the remains of the two Irish exchange students were eventually found by the emergency services.
The 8 other students that were staying in the building all escaped the fire alive. One escaped via the roof, two others received the help of neighbours, while 5 others were able to get out under their own steam.
The students have been taken to a local police station. The house is owned by Leuven's Irish College. All the students living in the house are Irish.
It is still unclear what caused the fire. The Leuven Judicial Authorities have appointed a fire investigator to look into the circumstances that caused the blaze. However, he is still unable to enter the building and start his investigation.
Were fire safety regulations respected?
According to the Mayor of Leuven Louis Tobback (socialist, photo) the house was not registered as a student house and thus had not been checked to see if it conformed to fire safety regulations.
Houses used as student houses should be registered as in Leuven and in many other municipalities with a student population, student houses are subject a local tax on student residences.
All houses registered as student residences receive regular fire safety checks. However, the Irish College had not registered the house as a student residence; it was no fire safety checks were carried out.
