2023-05-29 19:07:00
The firefighters of zone 6 (German-speaking community) are mobilized in the Fens this Monday at the end of the day for the start of a fire, near the Belgian-German border. The firefighters were joined by reinforcements from rescue zone 5, Vesdre Hoëgne and Plateau, who came with two tank trucks.
Around 8:00 p.m. the Belgian emergency services asked for reinforcement from their German colleagues in Aachen as well as from civil protection.
The firefighters, equipped with cisterns, fetch water about 5 kilometers away, near the Ternell house (Eupen) to fight the flames.
Francis Claude, colonel of the DG relief zone, spoke around 10 p.m. to provide an update on this fire: “The fire is located in an area not accessible to people. 50 hectares are concerned. The fire is spreading. The land is very difficult to access. We only know how to get there with special vehicles. The fire goes against the direction of the wind, it is moving very slowly. We will certainly still be there tomorrow morning, or even later in the day. Our colleagues in Germany are taking care of a sector.”
The weather conditions increased the risk
Olivier Giust, the fire captain of Liège, also believes that it is not surprising that a fire of this type breaks out at this time of the year. “For large fires, here, in our regions, there are periods of risk: the end of winter and summer. Here, we are in a rather special period between these two periods of risk. But despite everything, the weather conditions have increased the risk in recent days”he says. “Even if it was quite rainy, the soil was relatively dry. Even after periods of rain, the earth quickly dried out. We have been able to see in recent days that there was a north wind, a wind very dry which has dried up the plants. And in the Fagnes, with this vegetation very sensitive to the wind, there is a significant risk of fire.”
These interventions are generally long term. “The Fagnes are a fairly complicated terrain, because they are very unstable, a little spongy. These interventions require a lot of equipment and personnel. They are tiring, exhausting. A rescue zone is generally not sufficiently equipped to ensure this fight”he concludes.
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