Amsterdam Church Inferno: New Year’s Eve Blaze Devours Centuries-Old Landmark
A 17th-century Amsterdam church became a towering inferno on New Year’s Eve, collapsing its historic spire and prompting a major emergency response.
Flames lit the midnight sky
Minutes before the city’s bells tolled 2024, the 17th-century Westertoren Church turned into a chimney of fire. Orange tongues licked its timber spire, raining embers onto cobblestones where revelers had gathered for champagne and countdowns. By 00:17, sirens drowned out fireworks; Amsterdam’s mayor had already declared a GRIP-3 major incident.
‘It sounded like the tower was breathing’
“I heard a crack—like ice splitting—then red heat poured down the clock face,” said Lotte de Groot, 29, who watched from her apartment across the canal. “Within seconds, centuries folded into ash.”
Firefighters battled -4°C winds
Two aerial platforms pumped 6,000 liters of water a minute, yet the blaze leapt across oak beams dried by 350 winters. Crews worked in rotating shifts, ice crusting their visors. By 03:40, the spire collapsed inward, sending a spiral of sparks toward Prinsengracht.
What we know so far
- Cause: Unknown; fireworks residue found on scaffolding.
- Damage: Roof and spire destroyed; carillon of 51 bells lost.
- Injuries: One firefighter hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
- Heritage: Built 1630, landmark status since 1970.
City wakes to mourning bells
At dawn, Amsterdammers left flowers against police tape. The church’s charred stones still steamed while bells across the city tolled a muted tribute. Restoration architects estimate a decade-long, €80 million rebuild—if original drawings survived the archives.