Brussels firefighters strike as Dilliès offers round-the-clock talks
Brussels regional minister Boris Dilliès said on 24 July 2026 that he is ready to negotiate "24 hours a day, 7 days a week" with striking firefighters of the Brussels fire and emergency medical service (SIAMU/DBDMH), as industrial action over staffing, working…
In 30 seconds
- Brussels regional minister Boris Dilliès said he is ready to negotiate "in a constructive manner, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week" with striking firefighters (BX1, DH, 24 July 2026).
- The dispute concerns SIAMU/DBDMH, the single bilingual fire and emergency medical service covering all 19 Brussels communes.
- Union grievances centre on staffing levels, working conditions, equipment and pay.
- Belgian firefighters may strike, but minimum service and requisition rules keep 112 emergency cover operating.
SIAMU (Service d'incendie et d'aide médicale urgente) / DBDMH (Dienst voor Brandbestrijding en Dringende Medische Hulp) is the single, bilingual fire and emergency medical service of the Brussels-Capital Region, covering the region's nineteen communes and operating its ambulance fleet within the federal 112 system. It reports to the Brussels regional government; political responsibility currently sits with minister Boris Dilliès (MR), the former mayor of Uccle, who took the firefighting and emergency medical assistance portfolio in the Brussels regional executive. Unlike Flanders and Wallonia, where fire services are organised in multi-municipality zones, Brussels has one region-wide service — which means a labour dispute there is simultaneously an operational and a governmental problem.
Background
Labour tension inside the Brussels fire service is not new. SIAMU has seen repeated union actions over the past decade over understaffing, overtime, ageing equipment and the pay scale, and successive Brussels governments have promised recruitment plans that unions argue were only partly delivered. The service also carries the institutional memory of the 22 March 2016 attacks, when Brussels firefighters and ambulance crews were among the first responders at Maalbeek and Zaventem — an experience unions have since cited when arguing for staffing and psychological support.
What to do
Call 112 for fire or medical emergencies as normal — minimum service applies. Use 1733 for non-urgent medical help outside surgery hours. Expect possible delays to non-urgent ambulance transport, fire-safety inspections and prevention visits, and check with your commune before assuming a scheduled inspection or event safety clearance will go ahead while the dispute continues.
The Belgian angle
The action affects all nineteen Brussels communes, since SIAMU operates as a single regional service rather than as separate municipal brigades. Residents should continue to use 112 for emergencies; the visible effects are more likely to appear in delays, non-urgent patient transport, prevention visits and inspections than in unanswered emergency calls.
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- Published:
- 24 Jul 2026, 02:00
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- 24 Jul 2026
- Published:
- 24 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 24 Jul 2026
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- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 24 Jul 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 24 Jul 2026
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