In the same building as the garage that burned to the ground during the night, a handful of tenants also lived. Marcel Mulombo and his family were some of them.

- It was at the time of the sixties that we discovered that it started to smell smoke. I initially thought it was because they were fixing the cars, but my neighbor came and said that we have to come when it might be burning, says Marcel.

When Marcel and his neighbor went out, he saw that it was serious and he ran in and fetched his family. The rescue services were in place quickly, and they began extinguishing work.

- At first we hoped we could go in again but it turned out that they couldn't control the fire. So the clothes we were wearing when we went out were all that was left, it's very, very boring, he says.

Grateful for the support

During Thursday, Marcel and his family received a lot of support from their friends and when Marcel has a small child, the property owner fixed an emergency apartment for him.

- Right now I feel grateful and I just want to be positive. We must think about the future. It doesn't matter if I sit and moan, it has already happened. Now I look to the future, says Marcel.

No suspicions of crime

The police have not chosen to initiate any preliminary investigation as they suspect the fire started after an overcharge when charging a battery.

In the clip above you can hear more about Marcel Mulombo's nightmare night.