Fire broke out at the European Commission building Monday, forcing the evacuation of the headquarters as smoke billowed from the roof. "There is a fire alarm and we are in the process of evacuating the commission," commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said without giving details.
Journalists in the area could see a plume of smoke coming from the roof of the building, the Berlaymont, in the heart of Brussels' European quarter as the surrounding streets were filled with an acrid smell. "At approximately 13:00 (1100 GMT) this afternoon, a fire broke out in the Berlaymont building," the commission said in a statement.
"The fire alarms sounded and the building was fully evacuated. Fire-fighters are currently on the scene responding to the situation," the statement continued. There was no word of any injuries in the building where 2,700 people work and hundreds visit daily. The Berlaymont building has 16 floors and an area of 240,000 square metres.