How Belgium's firefighters are training for a wildfire risk they once ignored
As another dry summer bakes Belgium's heathland and forests, public broadcaster RTBF has examined how the country's rescue zones and federal Civil Protection are preparing for vegetation and wildfires — a hazard long treated as a southern-European problem but…
In 30 seconds
- RTBF reports Belgian fire services are training specifically for vegetation and wildfires as dry summers raise the risk.
- Belgium's fire response runs through the zones de secours, created by the 2015 fire-service reform, backed by federal Civil Protection.
- High-risk landscapes include the Kempen heath and pine and the Ardennes and Hautes Fagnes moorland.
- During dry spells, provinces can impose fire bans and restrict forest access.
The story concerns the operational readiness of Belgian fire services for vegetation and wildfires. Key entities: the zones de secours (regional rescue zones created by the 2015 reform of Belgian fire services); the federal Civil Protection (Protection civile / NCCN-coordinated response); and RTBF, the Francophone public broadcaster whose reporting frames the piece. The hazard in focus is terrain fire in heathland, moorland (such as the Hautes Fagnes) and pine forest (such as the Kempen), amplified by drought and heat.
Background
Belgium reorganised its fire services in 2015, merging municipal brigades into larger zones de secours to standardise training and equipment. Wildfire risk moved up the agenda after the 2022 drought, when Belgium and much of Europe endured exceptional dryness and significant heath and forest fires, including blazes on military domains and nature reserves. That summer reframed vegetation fire as a domestic hazard rather than a purely southern-European one.
What to do
Residents near forests and heath should heed fire bans and access restrictions during dry spells, avoid open flames and barbecues in at-risk areas, and expect rapid, large-scale mobilisation if a terrain fire starts.
Impact
Regional — The risk is concentrated in Belgium's forest and heath landscapes — the Kempen in Flanders, the Ardennes and the Hautes Fagnes in Wallonia — where dry conditions and remote terrain complicate access. Provinces in these areas are the ones most likely to issue fire bans and forest-access restrictions during prolonged dry spells.
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- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 5 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.