Four Limburg metalworkers killed in fire at Brussels Oxy building
Four employees of the same Limburg metalworking company died in a fire at the Oxy building in Brussels. Belgian media, including Het Nieuwsblad and HLN, identified them as Stijn (46), Koen (44), Johan (36) and Jille (23).
In 30 seconds
- Four workers died in a fire at the Oxy building in Brussels; all four were employees of the same Limburg metalworking company.
- Belgian media identified the victims as Stijn (46), Koen (44), Johan (36) and Jille (23).
- The men were on site as contractors rather than as occupants of the building, according to Belgian reporting.
- The cause of the fire has not been publicly established; a prosecutor-led investigation is under way.
The Oxy building is a property in Brussels where a fire broke out, killing four workers. The four men were employees of a metalworking company based in the province of Limburg, in Flanders, who were working on site at the time. Belgian media — Het Nieuwsblad (Mediahuis) and Het Laatste Nieuws (DPG Media) — identified them by first name and age as Stijn (46), Koen (44), Johan (36) and Jille (23). Investigations into fatal fires in Brussels are led by the Brussels public prosecutor's office, working with the Brussels fire brigade (DBDMH/SIAMU) and, in workplace deaths, the federal labour inspectorate's welfare-at-work directorate.
Background
Fatal fires and workplace deaths involving external contractors have repeatedly prompted scrutiny of Belgium's shared-responsibility rules, under which a client company and a contractor both carry duties for the safety of workers on site. Belgium's welfare-at-work legislation requires coordination between the two, and fatal incidents involving contracted workers are routinely examined by the federal labour inspectorate alongside the criminal investigation. Brussels, with a dense stock of older office buildings undergoing renovation, has seen recurring debate over fire safety during works, when detection and evacuation systems are often partly disabled.
What to do
For contractors working on Belgian sites, the case is a reminder to confirm before work begins who holds responsibility for fire detection and evacuation on a site that is under renovation, and to insist on a documented site briefing covering escape routes. Workers have the right to refuse work they judge to present serious and immediate danger under Belgian welfare-at-work rules.
The Belgian angle
The four men worked for a metalworking company based in Limburg, and the deaths are being felt most acutely there — in the firm's workforce, in the municipalities the men came from, and among the network of subcontractors that Limburg's metal sector supplies across the country. Het Nieuwsblad reported the story through its Limburg regional desk, reflecting how directly the province is affected.
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- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 24 Jul 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 24 Jul 2026
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