Page 24 - THE FIRE STATION

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Also in 1961, the Ministry of Health created the “Centres de
Secours Médical” (also known as “Le Service 900”), paramedic
units attached to fire brigades. Assigned such a unit, the Charleroi my former officer, a lieutenant, came to see me. He handed me an
fire brigade received an ambulance, to be driven by designated
firemen.
F. : “One of the most memorable moments in my life as a fireman?
The move from the City Hall to what we call the Arsenal! Every-
thing there was brand new. For the 18 members of each of the
two companies, it was so big you hardly ever saw anybody.
It felt just empty!”
In 1962, hardly a year after joining the brigade, François and his
colleagues moved from the City Hall to the cellars of the Char-
leroi Exhibition Centre, up to now used as a public skating rink
as could still be seen by the advertising hoardings and the glazed
frames of what had once been the bar, and which had now been
converted into changing rooms. Located on the Rue de l’Ancre,
this fire station was where the firemen were divided up into two
companies, each alternately working a 24-hour shift.
An intercom system was installed and a room was converted into
a control room equipped with call-handling facilities and other
ultra-modern (for that period) equipment. This was for the Service
900, and 4 staff members (people either handicapped or shortly
due to retire) were assigned to it, attached to either of the two
companies.
F. : “With night call-outs becoming increasingly frequent, I found
it more and more difficult to do my typesetting work properly.
With a heavy heart, I decided to resign as a fireman! A very
tough decision for me! Every time I heard the siren go off, I
jumped.
I had tears in my eyes, each time I saw a rescue vehicle, an
ambulance or a fire engine.”
The principle of assigning “policiers-pompiers” to fire stations
was terminated and several new firemen were recruited.
At that time, there was no law governing the organisation of fire
services. This didn’t happen until the end of 1963, when the Law
of 31 December 1963 on local fire services came into effect.
F. : “My former colleagues urged me to come back. But I thought I
would never be able to rejoin the Fire Service. But then, one day,
already filled-out application form which I quickly signed. After
passing all the tests again, I once more became a fireman. At long
last! I could again make my childhood (and adulthood) dream
come true! In the meantime, a pay review had positively impacted
firemen’s pay, and I now found myself receiving a living wage.”
At that time, undoubtedly due to their varied activities during
their 24-hour shifts, the fireman worked 73 hours a week (com-
pared with 45 hours in the private sector). This continued until
1981, when the expansion from 2 to 4 companies reduced their
weekly hours, giving them 3 days off after each 24-hour shift.
F. : “Things had got a lot better! I was really happy with my life
as a fireman. I took several courses and passed exams held by
the Ministry of the Interior to move up the career ladder, ending
my career as captain. We were like one big family. There weren’t
that many of us, and everyone knew each other. You knew all
your colleagues’ wives, children, even their brothers and sisters.”
Up till the early 1970’s, the Charleroi fire brigade was under
the command of the Police Chief Commissioner.
In 1970 the Jumet firemen were integrated into the Charleroi fire
brigade, extending the latter’s radius of action and causing certain
difficulties. These were not resolved until the 1986 acquisition of
the outpost in Jumet. Situated opposite the former terminal of
Gosselies Airport which did not have its own fire service, this
was to become a second location of the Regional Fire Service.
The two Regional Fire Service locations (the Arsenal in Charleroi
and the outpost in Jumet) covered eleven municipalities (Aiseau-
Presles, Charleroi, Châtelet, Courcelles, Farciennes, Fontaine-
l’Évêque, Gerpinnes, Ham-sur-Heure/Nalinnes, Les Bons Villers,
Montigny-le-Tilleul and Pont-à-Celles) with a total population
of more than 372,000 (January 2015) and a surface area of
50,000 hectares.
On account of a number of mutual assistance agreements,
the Charleroi Fire Service may also be called out to incidents
in Fleurus, Beaumont, Chimay and Thuin.