Holland Firefighters Die While Battling Blaze

Three firefighters in Holland died Sunday while fighting a church fire.

According to European news sources, Ben Hannenberg, Douwe van Kooten and Renz Knipper ages 46, 47 and 48, members of the Haarlem Fire Department, died battling the fire on the evening of Sunday, March 23 in Haarlem.

The fire that started around 8 p.m., drew nearly 80 firefighters to the incident. Haarlem-Zandvoort is the bustling center of North-Holland, very near Amsterdam and is considered the Holland Flower City of Europe according to European news sources.

A church wall collapsed on five firefighters, killing the three and seriously injuring two others. Residents of six houses around the church were told to leave their homes. The church was built in 1926.