‘Terrible’ fire engulfs 154-year-old church in Amsterdam

London: A huge fire gutted a 19th-century church in Amsterdam in the early hours of New Year’s Day, causing its tower to collapse.

The blaze broke out shortly after midnight at the Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction built in 1872 that overlooks the Vondelpark, the city’s largest park.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames engulfing the spire. The 50m-high tower collapsed and the roof was badly damaged, but the rest of the structure was expected to remain intact, Amsterdam authorities said.

Several dozen nearby homes were evacuated. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Emergency services, which used water from the Vondelpark to help extinguish the fire, remained at the scene on Thursday morning. Firefighters were unable to enter the building due to the risk of structural collapse.

“It’s a very large, historic building. There’s a lot of wood, and the wind also allows the fire to spread easily and widely,” a spokesman told the ANP news agency.

“The church’s characteristic appearance has been lost. It’s a terribly bad and dramatic start to the new year.”

Femke Halsema, the Amsterdam mayor, said: “This is a very intense and terrible fire in this monumental church. Our first concern and priority now is the well-being and homes of the immediate residents.”

The church, close to Leidseplein – Holland’s most famous nightlife district – is a short walk from the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.

The blaze happened as the Netherlands endured New Year’s Eve turbulence, with two people killed in firework incidents and “unprecedented” violence against police.

Nine Kooiman, the head of the Dutch Police Union, said she had been targeted three times by fireworks and other explosives as she worked a shift in Amsterdam.

Shortly after midnight, the authorities released a rare countrywide alert on mobile phones, warning people not to call overwhelmed emergency services unless lives were at risk.

Reports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread. In the southern city of Breda, people threw petrol bombs at police.

The two people killed by fireworks were a 17-year-old from Nijmegen and a 38-year-old man from Aalsmeer. Three other people were seriously injured. The eye hospital in Rotterdam said it had treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries. Two needed surgery.

The Netherlands is due to ban unofficial fireworks this year, and people bought them in huge quantities to celebrate the New Year. According to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association, revellers splashed out a record €129 million ($227 million) on fireworks.

Some areas had been designated firework-free zones, but that appeared to have little effect.

The Telegraph, London

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