On Tuesday evening, two firefighter-paramedics were victims of “extremely violent” verbal abuse, according to the spokesperson of the Brussels fire brigade, Walter Derieux. The emergency workers have since filed a complaint with the police.
The incident took place in the Brussels municipality of Laeken, on Avenue Jean Sobiesky, during a call out for a man injured along a public highway. The suspect had received a stab wound. According to reports, the injured suspect was the perpetrator of attacks against the emergency services.
The patient is said to have become suddenly angry and attempted to physically attack the medics treating him. Police were forced to subdue the suspect. Once detained, the man told firefighters that he knew where they worked and threatened them.
“The spiral of violence against rescuers is increasing day by day and nothing seems to be able to stop it. Strongly shocked, the agents were unable to finish their service,” Eric Labourdette, representative of the SLFP union, told La Libre Belgique.
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Two firefighters involved in the incident are now on leave due to the violent nature of the attack. Two rapid response SMUR medics from the UZ VUB (Jette) were also involved and have also filed a complaint with the police.
This attack comes after a wave of violence against firefighters, ambulance workers, and police in major urban centres in Belgium on New Year’s Eve. The SLFP union said that it intends to declare a strike, demanding better working conditions for emergency service workers and a zero-tolerance policy towards violence.
