Wikipedia

Firefighting in Belgium

In Belgium organized public fire services (Dutch: brandweer, French: service d'incendie, German: Feuerwehr) are available everywhere in the country. The responsibility to provide general firefighting and rescue services resides with 34 public authorities called 'fire zones', or literally translated 'emergency rescue zones' (Dutch: hulpverleningszone, French: zone de secours, German: Hilfeleistungszone). The Brussels Capital Region is protected by the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service (Dutch: DBDMH, Dienst voor Brandbestrijding en Dringende Medische Hulp; French: SIAMU, Service d'Incendie et l'Aide Medicale Urgente), which has its own legal status.[1][2] Together the 34 fire zones and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service employ about 17,000 firefighters in total according to 2018 figures, and as of 2023 maintain 320 fire stations spread over the entire Belgian territory.[3][4] In case of emergency, the response of Belgian fire services can be obtained through the 112 emergency telephone number.[5]

Belgian firefighters performing a firefighting demonstration (2019).

The jurisdiction over the organisation and regulation of the fire services lies with the Directorate-General Civil Security of Belgium's FPS Interior.[6] This does not apply however to the provision of emergency medical services, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Directorate-General Health Care of the FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment.[7]

History of fire services

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Before the 2000s

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Oldtimer fire engines on display in 2006.
 
Old fire station of the Ghent city fire service (1977).

The history of fire services in Belgium predates the foundation of the country, since local municipalities had been given the statutory authority and duty to prevent and repress fires in the late 18th century. Municipalities were entirely free in how they undertook this responsibility, and whether or not to maintain a fire service. This approach changed during the interwar period, when in the context of a new looming war the Belgian government in 1935 required every municipality either to establish their own fire service or either to contract with another municipality for fire service coverage. In the 1960s, this time in the context of the Cold War period, a new national legal framework was adopted related to the organization of municipal fire services and the Civil Protection units maintained by the national government. This new framework introduced a classification of municipalities with regards to the requirements placed on their fire services, new forms of optional and mandatory cooperation between these services, minimum standards concerning equipment and staffing, and subsidy mechanisms for purchasing equipment.[8]

Ghislenghien disaster

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This framework for fire services organized on a municipal basis remained largely in place until the Ghislenghien gas explosion in 2004. This explosion took the lives of twenty-four people, including five firefighters. In the wake of the disaster, the organization of the fire services was deemed to be no longer suited for modern times and modern risks. To prepare a reform, a commission was created chaired by the then governor of the province of Antwerp Camille Paulus. This commission put forward three key points for the reform:[9]

  1. Citizens have the right to the fastest adequate assistance regardless of borders and jurisdictions;
  2. Every citizen has the right to the same basic protection against an equivalent financial contribution;
  3. Upscaling is necessary to achieve a more efficient use of resources and better handling of large incidents.

New civil security framework

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These principles were incorporated in a new law on civil security, promulgated in 2007.[10] This law provided for the creation of new public bodies called emergency rescue zones (fire zones), which would each be composed of a number of municipalities by analogy to the police zones in Belgium. Notwithstanding some exceptions, they would be governed by a council formed by the mayors of each constituent municipality. Their funding would primarily come from contributions of each municipality and from grants from the Belgian federal government. Each municipality was required to become a part of a fire zone, regardless of whether they had their own fire service or not. The existing municipal fire services had to merge into these new zones. This major reform was only fully implemented by 1 January 2016, when the last new fire zones finally became active. The Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service was largely exempted from this reform, since it already enjoyed its own specific legal status as a public body managed by the Brussels regional government.[11][12]

Fire zones

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Map of the Belgian fire zones.

As stated before, fire zones (officially 'emergency rescue zones') are public bodies composed of multiple constituent municipalities. Bar some exceptions, they are governed by a council in which the mayor of each municipality has a seat. Their funding comes primarily from their constituent municipalities and from the Belgian federal government. The fire zones each manage a network of fire stations, with assigned firefighters and fire apparatus, from which firefighting and rescue operations are carried out. The fire zones also have duties related to fire safety and fire prevention, and most zones take on a role in the provision of emergency medical services as well. On the operational level, each fire zone is headed by a zone commander. The fire zones differ from each other on several points, such as their size, the risks present in their jurisdiction, and whether they are a volunteer, combination or career-only organisation.[1][3][11]

List

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Below is a table containing a list of all of the 34 fire zones as well as the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service. In this table, the column '# M' lists the number of municipalities encompassed by each zone, the column '# S' lists the number of fire stations in each zone, and '# I' lists the total number of (non-EMS) interventions carried out by each zone:

Province or region Native name[2] Area[13] Population[14]

(on 2022-01-01)

# M[2] # S[4] # I[15]

(2020)

sq mi km²
  Brussels DBDMH (Dutch) or SIAMU (French) 62.71 162.42 1,222,637 19 8 14,707
  Antwerp Brandweer Zone Antwerpen 89.75 232.44 560,117 3 8 14,535
  Antwerp Brandweerzone Rivierenland 219.70 569.03 430,901 18 15 14,524
  Antwerp Brandweer Zone Rand 275.91 714.61 424,365 21 20 7,043
  Antwerp Hulpverleningszone Taxandria 243.82 631.50 201,025 12 12 7,655
  Antwerp Brandweer Zone Kempen 281.29 728.53 270,201 15 7 7,235
  Flemish Brabant Hulpverleningszone Oost Vlaams-Brabant 476.34 1,233.71 546,949 32 8 12,864
  Flemish Brabant Brandweerzone Vlaams-Brabant West 341.56 884.64 626,491 33 9 14,250
  Walloon Brabant Zone de Secours du Brabant wallon 423.63 1,097.20 409,782 27 5 6,767
  East Flanders Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen 204.24 528.98 175,619 12 8 6,613
  East Flanders Brandweerzone Centrum 359.49 931.08 567,287 18 14 9,875
  East Flanders Brandweerzone Oost 111.87 289.75 185,259 7 7 5,585
  East Flanders Hulpverleningszone Zuid-Oost 177.46 459.63 299,616 11 9 11,028
  East Flanders Hulpverleningszone Waasland 171.25 443.53 227,081 7 9 4,820
  East Flanders Hulpverleningszone Meetjesland 136.72 354.101 89,003 5 4 1,865
  Hainaut Zone de secours Hainaut Centre 528.04 1,367.63 556,543 28 11 N/A
  Hainaut Zone de Secours Hainaut-Est 479.84 1,242.77 474,436 22 6 9,408
  Hainaut Zone de Secours de Wallonie Picarde 464.26 1,202.43 320,148 19 7 7,418
  Liège Zone de secours Hesbaye 150.61 390.07 76,663 13 2 1,836
  Liège Zone de Secours HEMECO 231.30 599.08 106,423 15 2 2,474
  Liège Liège Zone 2 IILE-SRI 227.94 590.36 565,529 21 7 8,563
  Liège Zone de secours 5 Warche-Amblève-Lienne 244.28 632.69 49,468 7 4 1,536
  Liège Zone de Secours Vesdre-Hoëgne & Plateau 308.41 798.79 234,302 19 9 3,516
  Liège Hilfeleistungszone DG 326.70 846.14 78,604 9 7 1,080
  Limburg Brandweerzone Oost-Limburg 341.64 884.83 324,729 14 8 5,968
  Limburg Hulpverleningszone Noord-Limburg 221.38 573.36 168,701 9 4 5,555
  Limburg Hulpverleningszone Zuid-West Limburg 374.22 969.24 392,521 19 8 15,242
  Luxembourg Zone de Secours Luxembourg 1,721.73 4,459.25 291,143 44 17 7,213
  Namur Zone de Secours DINAPHI 968.01 2,507.12 178,975 22 12 6,391
  Namur Zone de secours NAGE 320.93 831.20 232,709 10 4 5,541
  Namur Zone de secours Val de Sambre 129.92 336.50 87,770 6 3 2,518
  West Flanders Hulpverleningszone Zone 1 377.55 977.86 441,554 17 11 10,456
  West Flanders Brandweer Westhoek 466.00 1,206.93 220,785 18 22 7,034
  West Flanders Hulpverleningszone Fluvia 174.86 452.89 315,636 14 16 4,451
  West Flanders Brandweerzone Midwest 215.80 558.91 231,036 15 17 5,985

Activities

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Fire engine of the Antwerp Fire Zone (2015).
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By law, the fire zones and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service are responsible for: fighting fires and explosions, the rescue and protection of endangered people and property and logistical support, and this throughout five different phases of emergency management: pro-action, prevention, preparation, execution and evaluation. Additionally, the fire zones are also tasked with combating pollution and releases of hazardous materials, and with conducting fire safety inspections and promoting fire prevention among the general public. While also mentioned as one of their duties, the provision of emergency medical services falls under a specific framework and is further discussed below.[10]

Emergency response

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In Belgium, emergency assistance from the medical or fire services can be obtained via the European emergency telephone number 112 or the legacy national emergency telephone number 100. Calls to these emergency numbers are answered in one of the 112 emergency centres (PSAPs) managed by the Belgian federal government. Bar one exception, there is a 112 emergency centre in each of the Belgian provinces. Aside from the emergency numbers, there is also the telephone number 1722. This number is intended for reporting less emergent problems during storm weather, such as minor flooding or broken branches obstructing public roads. The 1722 number was created in 2017 to keep the 112 (or 100) number free for life-threatening emergencies during a surge of calls caused by a storm.[5][16]

Information from an emergency call destined for the fire services is immediately forwarded by the 112 emergency centres to the appropriate fire zone or fire station. The fire zones or stations themselves are then in charge of dispatching the appropriate resources to the scene of the emergency. An important aspect of this arrangement is the principle of 'fastest adequate assistance' (Dutch: SAH, snelste adequate hulp, French: AA+R, aide adéquate la plus rapide, German: SAH, schnellstmöglichen angemessenen Hilfe) as laid down by the 2007 civil security law. This means that for a legally determined list of emergencies, the 112 emergency centre will alert the fire zone or station nearest to the emergency, even if the emergency falls beyond the jurisdiction of that zone or station. That zone or station which receives the alert is then required to respond outside of their territory.[17]

Statistics

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According to official statistics collected by Belgium's federal government, the fire zones and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service together carried out a total of 251,551 (non-EMS) interventions in 2020. Of these interventions, an absolute majority of 157,926 (62.78%) fell in the category "rescue and technical interventions". Interventions in the category "fire" amounted to 35,208, corresponding to 14.00% of the total number. Of these "fire" interventions, 11,826 concerned residential structure fires. The average response time for a fire in 2020, measured as the time between the fire zone or fire station receiving the alert and the first unit arriving on scene, was 11 minutes and 21 seconds. During all (non-EMS) interventions in 2020, firefighters were faced with 13,088 victims, including 11,812 injured civilians, 1,182 deceased civilians, and 94 injured firefighters in their own ranks. On average, 5.30 firefighters responded to a mission, varying from an average of 9.14 firefighters responding to a fire, to an average of 3.16 firefighters responding to "rescue and technical intervention" missions.[15]

Caution should however be used when interpreting these statistics, as the data provided by the fire zones is not entirely complete.[15]

Emergency medical services

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Schematic of the Belgian system for unplanned care (EMS as well as urgent primary care) as of 2022.
 
Emergency ambulance of the Zone de Secours Hainaut-Est.
See also: Emergency medical services in Belgium

Fire zones are not required to take up a role with regards to emergency medical services (EMS), although most of them do have an important stake in its provision. Emergency medical services in Belgium are principally organised along a three-tiered structure: firstly standard emergency ambulances which provide BLS-level care and transport patients; secondly so-called 'mobile emergency and resuscitation services' (Dutch: MUG, mobiele urgentiegroep; French: SMUR, service mobile d'urgence et de réanimation; German: MRD, mobiler Rettungsdienst) which provide ALS-level care by physicians using nontransporting vehicles; and thirdly so-called 'paramedical intervention teams' or 'PITs' which provide a level of care in between standard ambulances and the mobile emergency and resuscitation services, and consist of ambulances staffed with at least one emergency nurse. While all mobile emergency and resuscitation services and mainly all PITs are based at a hospital, emergency ambulances can be provided by any organisation concluding a contract with Belgium's FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. These ambulances can thus be operated by for example fire services, hospitals, the Red Cross or private companies.[18][19] In practice, the absolute majority of all emergency ambulances are operated by the fire zones.[7]

Emergency ambulances must be staffed by at least two emergency medical technicians (EMTs), in Belgium officially called hulpverlener-ambulancier (Dutch), secouriste-ambulancier (French) or Sanitäter-Krankenwagenfahrer (German). Some fire zones operating emergency ambulances may require their firefighters to also become certified as EMT, or may employ non-firefighter EMTs or even nurses to staff their ambulances. To obtain certification as EMT as of 2023, a participant must succeed for a 160-hour course. To retain the certification, EMTs must attend continuing education and undergo a five-yearly assessment.[20][21][22][23]

Some fire zones also ensure the availability of PITs in partnership with a hospital. In this setup, the fire zone may provide the ambulance vehicle and/or an EMT, while the hospital usually provides the emergency nurse required to staff the PIT.[24][25][26]

Fire safety and prevention

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In addition to firefighting, the fire zones and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service are also tasked with certain responsibilities with regards to fire safety and fire prevention. Specially trained personnel perform fire safety inspections or check building plans during the application processes to obtain construction permits, under the authority of the mayor of the municipality concerned. In doing this, they apply fire safety regulations issued by different governmental levels and entities. They also provide fire prevention advice to the general public.[1][10][27]

Civil Protection

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Main article: Belgian Civil Protection

In Belgium, the civil security is safeguarded by two branches: the fire zones (and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service) on one hand, and the Civil Protection on the other hand. The Civil Protection is an emergency service managed by Belgium's federal government. It provides specialized assistance to other emergency services (including the fire zones) and public authorities to manage disasters. After the creation of the fire zones, the duties of the Civil Protection were reviewed. It was decided that since the fire zones were to ensure the basic missions with regards to civil security, the Civil Protection would focus on more prolonged and specialised missions in four key areas: chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risks (CBRN), search and rescue missions (SAR), heavy technical deployments (HTD) and incident & crisis management (ICM). To this end, the Civil Protection disposes of specialised units and vehicles, such as mobile laboratories, rigid inflatable boats, search and rescue dogs, power generators, heavy pumps, water cannons, communications vehicles, and drones, among others. In 2019, the resources of the Civil Protection were centralised in two operational units: one in Crisnée and one in Brasschaat.[28][29][30]

Firefighting personnel

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Parts of a firefighter's ceremonial dress: cap, white gloves and insignia.

The fire zones and the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service rely on about 17,000 firefighters in total, consisting of around 6,000 career firefighters (35%) and 11,000 volunteers (65%), according to official 2018 figures. Of these firefighters, about 5% are members of the higher cadre, i.e. officers, and 16% are members of the middle cadre, i.e. NCOs. Are very small minority of about 2% of all firefighters are women. Aside from the firefighters, the fire zones also employ about 1,000 non-firefighter emergency medical technicians.[3] Caution should however be used when considering the total number of firefighters, since a number of career firefighters are simultaneously active as volunteers in a different fire zone. The official number of 17,000 firefighters might thus be an overestimation.[31][32]

Career firefighters can be found mostly in larger towns and cities, while rural areas rely mostly or entirely on volunteers. The Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service and the Antwerp Fire Zone, responsible for the port city of Antwerp, are the only ones employing exclusively career firefighters.[3] When it comes to the number of personnel, the Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Service is the largest in Belgium with almost 1,200 firefighters as of 2020.[33]

Training

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After the gas explosion of Ghislenghien in 2004, Belgian fire fighter academies have begun adapting newer techniques, such as the Swedish techniques for structural firefighting or USA's RIT-procedure (Rapid Intervention Team).

Ranks

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The fire zones employ a rank structure for their personnel which mirrors the Belgian military ranks, and is laid down by a Royal Order.[34]

Rank structure as of 2015

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Officers (Higher cadre) NCOs (Middle cadre) Enlisted (Basic cadre)
Insignia                
French Colonel Major Capitaine Lieutenant Adjudant Sergent Caporal Sapeur-pompier
Dutch Kolonel Majoor Kapitein Luitenant Adjudant Sergeant Korporaal Brandweerman

Obsolete ranks

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Officers (Higher cadre) NCOs (Middle cadre)
Insignia            
French Lieutenant-colonel Capitaine-commandant Sous-lieutenant Adjudant-chef Sergent-major Premier Sergent
Dutch Luitenant-Kolonel Kapitein-Commandant Onder-luitenant Opperadjudant Sergeant-majoor Eerste sergeant

Officer promotion controversy

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When the Belgian civil security reform came into force in 2014, all firefighter officers were automatically promoted to a higher rank, whether they held the appropriate certificate or not.[35] This led to numerous disputes and was the subject of one of the demands announced during the demonstrations by Belgian firefighters before and after the reform,[36] non-commissioned officers and men in the ranks feeling aggrieved,[37] because no similar measure was planned for them.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "What do the fire departments do?". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Contactgegevens van de hulpverleningszones – Données de contact des zones de secours" [Contact information of the emergency rescue zones] (PDF). Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch and French). 2 March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Brandweerpersoneel in België" [Fire personnel in Belgium] (PDF). Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch). 27 April 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Hulpverleningsposten – Postes des zones de secours" [Emergency rescue stations] (PDF). Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch and French). 7 April 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "FAQ 112". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  6. ^ "About civil security". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Les ambulances" [The ambulances]. FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (in French). Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  8. ^ Vandeplas, Armand (27 September 1980). "Preventie van brand en ontploffing, objectieve aansprakelijkheid en verplichte aansprakelijkheidsverzekering" [Prevention of fire and explosion, objective liability and compulsory civil liability insurance]. Rechtskundig Weekblad. 44th Vol. № 4 (in Dutch). pp. 217–219. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  9. ^ "De brandweerhervorming: van gemeentelijke brandweer naar hulpverleningszones" [The fire services reform: from municipal fire services to emergency rescue zones]. Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Wet van 15 mei 2007 betreffende de civiele veiligheid" [Law of 15 May 2007 regarding the civil security]. Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b "De brandweer vandaag" [The fire services today]. Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Reform". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Bodembezetting volgens het Kadaster (oppervlakte per gemeente)" [Land use according to the Cadastre (area per municipality)]. Statistics Belgium (in Dutch). 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari (1992–2022)" [Population per municipality on 1 January (1992–2022)]. Statistics Belgium (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  15. ^ a b c "Statistieken Belgische hulpverleningszones 2020" [Statistics Belgian emergency rescue zones 2020] (PDF). Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. ^ "What do the emergency centres 112 do?". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Omzendbrief van 3 juni 2014 betreffende het zonaal/interzonaal/provinciaal dispatchingsysteem" [Circular of 3 June 2014 regarding the zonal/interzonal/provincial dispatching system]. Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  18. ^ Farfan-Portet, M.-I.; Dubois, C.; Mistiaen, P.; Cordon, A.; Stordeur, S.; Van Den Heede, K. (24 March 2017). "Towards an inclusive trauma system for major trauma – Short Report" (PDF). KCE Reports 281Cs. Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE). pp. 9–11. ISSN 2466-6459. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  19. ^ Van Trimpont, F.; Jennes, S.; Alland, M.; Servais, J.M.; Bodson, L.; Taminiau, D.; Renard, I.; Mols, P. (June 2008). Société Française de Médecine d'Urgence (ed.). Catastrophes transfrontalières [Cross-border disasters] (PDF). Urgences 2008 (in French). Paris. p. 324. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Secouristes-ambulanciers" [Emergency medical technicians]. FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (in French). Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Rettungssanitäter/in – Krankenwagenfahrer/in" [Emergency medical technician – Ambulance driver]. Arbeitsamt der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft Belgiens (in German). Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Functiebeschrijving Hulpverlener – ambulancier (operationeel kader)" [Job description Emergency medical technician (operational cadre)] (DOCX). Directorate-General Civil Security (in Dutch). 19 April 2016. Archived (DOCX) from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Bijzondere werkplekken: de brandweer" [Special workplaces: the fire service]. Nursing Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Bohn Stafleu van Loghum (Springer Media). 28 March 2023. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Interventieteam Sint-Jozefskliniek versterkt dringende medische hulpverlening in regio Izegem" [Intervention team Saint Joseph Clinic strengthens emergency medical services in region of Izegem] (in Dutch). Vlaams Instituut voor de Eerste Lijn. 25 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Extra comfort voor patiënt in nood dankzij nieuwe PIT" [Extra comfort for patient in distress thanks to new PIT]. AZ Sint-Lucas (in Dutch). 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Informatiebrochure Vrijwillig Hulpverlener-ambulancier – Verpleegkundige BBT (m/v/x)" [Information leaflet Volunteer Emergency medical technician – Specialised nurse (m/f/x)] (PDF). Hulpverleningszone Waasland (in Dutch). 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  27. ^ De Pot, I. "Brandpreventie: welke regels en normen gelden er in België?" [Fire prevention: which rules and norms apply in Belgium?] (PDF). WTCB-Contact (in Dutch). 2019/1 (16): 4–6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  28. ^ "What does the Civil Protection do?". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  29. ^ "History". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Specialties". Directorate-General Civil Security. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  31. ^ "De Belgische Brandweer van morgen in relatie tot vrijwilligheid – Visienota versie 1.6" [The Belgian Fire Services of tomorrow in relation to voluntariness – Vision paper version 1.6] (PDF) (in Dutch). Vrijwilligerswerkwerkt. 13 September 2019. p. 8. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2023 – via ACOD LRB.
  32. ^ Van Moerkerke, Bart (July 2021). "Interview: De toekomst van de brandweervrijwilliger" [Interview: The future of the volunteer firefighter]. Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  33. ^ "DBDMH – Samenvatting van getuigenissen" [DBDMH – Summary of testimonies] (PDF). Unia (in Dutch). June 2021. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  34. ^ "Arrêté royal du 19 avril 2014 relatif au statut administratif du personnel opérationnel des zones de secours" [Royal Order of 19 April 2014 on the administrative status of operational personnel in the emergency rescue zones]. Directorate-General Civil Security (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  35. ^ Oppens, Xavier Van (13 December 2013). "Manifestation des pompiers: accalmie après un face-à-face tendu avec la police" [Firefighters' demonstration: lull after a tense face-to-face with the police]. RTBF.be (in French).
  36. ^ Boulanger, Sonia (18 June 2016). "Les pompiers manifestent à Namur: "Pour nos droits mais aussi ceux du citoyen"" [Firefighters demonstrate in Namur: "For our rights but also those of the citizen"]. RTBF.be (in French).
  37. ^ "Lettre ouverte d'un pompier au Colonel Gilbert" [Open letter from a firefighter to Colonel Gilbert]. pétitionenligne.be (in French).
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