The bell tower and part of the central section of the Vondelkerk church in Amsterdam collapsed due to the fire that started after midnight. Firefighters are still working to put out the flames that engulfed the building and the fire is not yet under control. All the houses around the church were evacuated. According to safety authorities, the nearby Vondelpark is currently not in danger. A journalist from the NL Times newspaper saw the firefighters ringing the bells of the houses immediately surrounding the church; several people then left their homes. The fire had already been declared large at 1am, considering the spread of the flames and the population density of the neighbourhood. The NL Times further writes that “parts of the top of the 154-year-old church had already broken off after the fire had continued for an hour.
The fire in the church tower caused a “huge shower of sparks” that shot eastwards, a spokesperson for the emergency services of the Amsterdam-Amstelland Region said. “This is a very intense and terrible fire in this monumental church,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said. “Our first concern and priority now is the well-being and homes of our immediate residents.” The Vondelkerk, we read on the municipality’s website, dates back to 1872 and for many years was a popular Catholic church also known as the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. About a century later the building, badly neglected, was threatened with demolition. However, a plan was drawn up to restore and redevelop the church, and in 1980 a foundation was established to make this possible. The church, again according to the website, had therefore become a place for events and concerts.
