Brussels Fire Department: always ready for what you care about

Respect Heavy fall on a scooter. Twins born far too early. Or a small dog stuck in a burning building. No matter the situation: the Brussels Fire Department is always ready. And that deserves respect. Help everyone, every time When something bad happens, we don’t always realize what is happening. But one thing is certain: you call 911 and the ambulance comes. As soon as the phone rings, a whole team takes action without hesitation and without distinction. Because behind every call is someone who needs help. A person with a story. A person who deserves respect. This respect is not always reciprocated. And that’s unfortunate, because firefighters are primarily human beings: men and women, fire fighters and paramedics, who give their best in all situations. That’s why we decided to reverse the perspective for once. graphite Real stories, real situations Three wall paintings in Brussels depict the true stories of several firefighters. They illustrate common and unique situations in which they make a difference. And you find out how much this story has affected the person who shares it. For six weeks, a ringing telephone will be placed next to each mural. When you pick up, you will hear someone talking about the work in front of you. Scooter fall A scooter accident: it happens almost every day in a city like Brussels. But it’s no less terrifying when it happens to you. Pieter, a fire-ambulance driver, relates the anguish of the young boy who suffered from a large fracture. But what he remembers most is the group of friends that joined them. Pieter remembers this day as follows: " Being a paramedic is sometimes really cool. Yeah, I know, it’s weird to say. I was once called in for an accident involving a scooter. A young man had slipped. He had hit a pole and broken his femur. It’s a really painful fracture. This boy was in a state of shock . Finally, we arrive and have to prepare him for transport. His brother was next door and did not know what to do. He could see that something was wrong with his leg. What do you want to do? I said to the brother, "Go sit next to him. Talk to him. Distract him." And as we get active, other young people join us. They end up being a whole group. You’re thinking, what’s it going to be? But there was a good atmosphere. They were really happy that we could help their comrade. "He’s not going to lose his leg?" , they asked us. Of course not, he’s not going to lose his leg. It’s going to be fine. So yes, the atmosphere can be nice in the ambulance. All these young people have accompanied us to the emergency room. If they read this: thank you guys. Something like that makes our day better. Premature Marc, a fire-ambulance man, is an old " ". He still remembers every detail of his very first day, when he was called for a woman who was about to give birth to twins. Much too early. Twenty years later, Marc still thinks about these children. Marc talks about his first day at the Brussels Fire Department: " A story that I will never forget? Stand up, it’s crazy. It was my very first day. Really, very first. I was taking care of the ambulance, fortunately with an experienced colleague. And we are called for a pregnant woman. Well, women about to give birth are often seen in the ambulance. But this was different. The lady was expecting twins. And she was only seven months pregnant, so it was still too early to have contractions. We arrived and immediately understood: the woman was going to give birth here. SMUR was on its way with a doctor. They had managed to fit two incubators into the car. I remember myself in front of this woman. The first child was born and weighed only 1 kg. It is really very small. I remember that I had to give him oxygen with a mask. It was too big for his tiny head. But in the end, this birth went well. We left for the maternity with the mother and babies. Two premature babies in the incubators. There were two girls. That was over 20 years ago. These girls are big today. Yes, I still think about it sometimes. It’s one of those stories you don’t forget.  Not without my dog In the event of a fire, firefighters are concerned first with people and then only with the building. But sometimes there are other things to consider and Bruno, the Fire-Ambulance Man, is well placed to know. He entered a burning building to find a small dog and evacuate it alongside his mistress. Bruno tells us how it went with the little dog: " People don’t always have clear minds when they’re stressed, so we’re here to make the big decisions for them. An example. We get a call for a serious fire in an apartment building. We go out with three pumps and large ladders. It’s a huge building, probably 50 metres wide. People are crying out on every balcony. They obviously want to be rescued as quickly as possible. So I climb the ladder with a colleague towards a window where an old lady is standing. We get up and she says, "I don’t want to go down." Okay, we’re on our ladder, what do we do? In fact, the lady’s little dog was still in the apartment. She was panicked and refused to follow us. This little dog was the most important thing in his eyes. I understand, I have a dog myself. So we went in to get her dog. Luckily, he was already there waiting for us, perfectly healthy. This lady was really relieved. For her, it was settled. We evacuated her and her dog. Being listening is often the most important thing you can do. You talk very quickly and it makes all the difference. Saving a dog? Yes, we do. We’re here to help. This campaign is a partnership between the Brussels Fire Department and safe.brussels. safe.brussels-logo