The number of fires in the home in our country rose by 31.7 percent between 2018 and 2019, from 8,686 to 11,452. The latest figures from the Federal Knowledge Center for Civil Security (KCCE) of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs show this on Friday. The number of cases of aggression against firefighters is also on the rise.
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The knowledge center registered exactly 4,180 residential fires in apartments and 7,272 in single-family homes. In 2018 there were only 2,477 and 6,209 respectively. This concerns figures from 32 of the 35 emergency assistance zones, which provided the figures on time. The zones Hainaut Center, Hainaut Est and Liège Zone 6 are not included. In 2019, 37 people lost their lives on the spot in those fires in the home, according to the intervention reports. In 2018 there were 33.
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Furthermore, it appears that in 2019 the assistance zones carried out 231,571 interventions, not including interventions for urgent medical assistance. More than 135,000 cases (58.3 percent) involved an intervention in the category ‘rescues and technical interventions’. This can range from rescuing people trapped in a vehicle, clearing the road or interventions with dangerous animals to interventions in the event of storm damage or flooding. Fire interventions account for 34,712 cases or about 15 percent.
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Between 2018 and 2019, the number of fire service interventions dropped sharply, by just under 20 percent. Especially the ‘rescues and technical interventions’ decreased (-27.6 percent), because there were a lot less interventions for dangerous animals (mostly wasp nests) (-54.3 percent to 49,453).
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Verbal and physical aggression
“The number of reports of violence against fire brigade emergency services has risen noticeably in recent years,” says the knowledge center. The total number increased from 170 to 187. For verbal aggression there was a small decrease, physical aggression increased from 27 to 49 reports. Finally, in 2019, two firefighters died in a building fire in Beringen.
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The Interior is still looking for reinforcements for the emergency centers. 50 operators and call takers are being sought for the control rooms Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges and Hasselt.
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