Plaque: Inno fire
Built by the great Art Nouveau architect, Victor Horta in 1901, the Innovation department store was destroyed by a fire in 1967 in which 325 people were killed in less than half an hour. Arson was suspected but no culprit was ever traced, nor responsibility claimed. A recently published book ("L’Incendie de l’Innovation", Luc Pire) suggests that the fire was started by Chinese Maoists, partly based on the anti-US climate at the time and the American promotion that the store was running. The tragedy led to new safety regulations and a new architecture for public buildings. It is said that it was to wipe out the memory of this disaster that the company remarketed itself as "Inno".
Site: Inno fire (1 memorial)
1000, rue Neuve, Inno department store, the entrance opposite no. 82
