15 May 2008

Old buildings make fire fighting impossible
A number of papers pick up on the aftermath of the devastating fire at Delft Technical University's architecture faculty building.

The AD reports that blazes in many high-rises constructed in the 1960s and 1970s would be difficult for the fire services to fight, because building regulations then were less rigorous than those of today.

An expert says that many of the buildings have "a high narrow tower surrounded by broad lower-level constructions" which "makes fire fighting from the outside impossible".

Trouw is upbeat, however, and has a picture of Education Minister Ronald Plasterk, as usual sporting a flamboyant hat, behind him the grim burnt-out skeleton of the partially collapsed building.

Surrounding him on the ground are most of the faculty's collection of original chairs and architectural models made by legends such as Le Corbusier and Gerrit Rietveld.

Despite the treasures being saved, Plasterk said the fire was "the worst disaster ever to have hit the Dutch university sector".

Fencing goods
De Telegraaf shocks its mass readership this morning with the news that "stolen electrical goods are being sold in ordinary shops".

A senior police detective in South Holland says more lorry cargoes are stolen in the province compared to other parts of The Netherlands. Regional police will help investigate how the stolen goods make their way into shops both here and in the rest of Europe.

Researchers estimate that as much as two-thirds of stolen PCs, TVs, phones, laptops and even shoes find their way to high-street shops. "If you take away the possibility of sales via the normal market, then stealing lorry loads becomes less lucrative and more risky," says the detective.

Rotterdam mayor commemorates Nazi air strikes
A photo on an inside page of De Volkskrant shows Rotterdam Mayor Ivo Opstelten laying a wreath at the local Devastated City monument.

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