Probe into fire in herring smokehouse that triggered NL-Alert

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a huge blaze that destroyed a herring smokehouse in Scheveningen harbour.

The fire at the Esser family business on Schokkerweg was reported at 12.45am on Sunday and quickly spread across the 700m2 site.

The thick smoke triggered an NL-Alert in Scheveningen and surrounding areas of The Hague at 1.30am, bringing people living nearby out of their homes to watch. Some neighbouring properties had to be evacuated because of the risk of smoke inhalation.

Six fire appliances and a cherry-picker were used to tackle the flames, but they were unable to save the main premises from burning down.

City mayor Jan van Zanen visited the site early on Sunday to talk to firefighters and the owners of the business. The fire broke out two days before the start of the new herring season in Scheveningen.