Brussels firefighters will host an open house, Sunday, Oct. 12th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at their headquarters located on Heliport Avenue, said Eric Labourdette, Head SLFP leader. Firefighters will demonstrate firefighting, the extinction of oil fires, and fire rescue. The Risc (Rescue in safe conditions) team which uses speleology techniques will showcase its specialties. Frequently called the ‘new’ team, the Risc team, created in 2014, plans to simulate a fire call. The cadet school, which currently has 30 students over the age of 15, will also give a demonstration.
Although not organized on a regular basis, these open houses are intended to expose the profession to the public. The department hopes to encourage young people to choose firefighting as their vocation. A new recruitment pool will soon be incorporated.
Currently, the Brussels fire department has approximately 1,070 firefighters. This is the largest fire department in all of Belgium. The second is in Antwerp with about 800 firefighters. There are six fire stations in Brussels in addition to the staff. They are located in Uccle, Jette at Schaerbeek, Anderlecht, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. The Brussels fire department also has ambulances in St. Elizabeth Hospital as well as St. Peter Hospital.
(Source: Belga)
