Explosion and fire damage a shelter at Ixelles community gardens

Updated: 23 August 2026, CEST.

Brussels firefighters extinguished a fire in a shelter at the Ernotte community gardens in Ixelles on the morning of Thursday, 20 August, after a small explosion preceded the blaze. No one was injured, according to BX1 and RTBF, which based their reports on information and images from the Brussels fire service.

The fire broke out on a cultivated plot along Rue Ernotte, close to the boundary between Ixelles and Watermael-Boitsfort. La DH identified the site as the Varda gardens, the name given to the Boondael-Ernotte gardens in honour of filmmaker Agnès Varda. BX1 reported that flames reached the height of nearby treetops and that crews used a substantial quantity of firefighting foam to bring the blaze under control.

BX1 said an unhoused person had been living at the site but was absent when the explosion occurred. The broadcaster reported that a gas cylinder was one possible cause, but that explanation has not been officially confirmed. No published account reviewed by Belgium Pulse identified a definitive ignition source or specified the full extent of damage to the gardens beyond the affected shelter.

The incident directly concerns gardeners and residents around Rue Ernotte, while the absence of casualties limits its wider immediate impact. It nevertheless damaged part of a community space with a long local history. The municipality of Ixelles lists Ernotte Boondael among its collective gardens at Rue Ernotte 87. Municipal material says the gardens were renamed after Varda in 2019, reflecting the French-Belgian filmmaker’s connection to Ixelles.

The site has also featured in years of debate over green space and housing. BRUZZ reported in 2018 that residents had challenged earlier development plans affecting the gardens, while the municipality’s current directory continues to recognise community gardening activity there. That history provides context for the site’s local importance, but no available evidence links the fire to those planning disputes.

The immediate emergency is over, according to the reports published on 20 August. The remaining questions are whether investigators confirm a gas cylinder as the source, how much infrastructure or cultivation was lost, and when the damaged area can be used safely again. No later official update answering those questions had been located by the time of this update.