A fire that began in a refrigerator near the fish counter ended with smoke, a water cleanup, and no injuries.

At approximately 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 11, 2026, a fire started in a refrigerator near the fish counter at the Delhaize supermarket on Rue de l’Abbaye in Ath, Belgium. Of course, at that hour the store was empty. No customer or employee was in the building to notice the fire or to raise an alarm, and a fire develops fast in those circumstances.

The automatic sprinkler system operated, and firefighters from the Wallonia Picardy emergency zone then contained the incident quickly. Store manager Vincent Duchâteau reported that there was only smoke and that no one was hurt. Access to the store was blocked for a time by the emergency vehicles on site.

The cost was real and it was limited. The same fire in an empty building with no automatic protection would have had no such limit.

“As government officials in Belgium debate the merits of requiring automatic fire sprinklers in mercantile occupancies, this recent fire offers a clear example of what a properly designed, installed, and maintained system can accomplish,” Inge Devalez, National Manager of the Belgian Fire Sprinkler Network.

Every building has hours when there is no one present. This is when the automatic sprinkler system becomes the “eyes and ears” of the building.

Read the full article: Delhaize store catches fire in Wallonia

For a complete list of sprinkler saves this year visit the IFSA Sprinkler Saves page here.

Visit the Belgian Fire Sprinkler Network (BFSN) for additional information on their activities to promote water-based fire protection locally: https://bfsn.be/