“The cloth halls of Ypres is one of the greatest bourgeois buildings in Gothic style in Europe,” says Kristof Louagie, the spokesperson for the Westhoek fire brigade.
“As a UNESCO-protected monument with two museums and a complex structure, it is a special challenge for emergency services. The building is not only a symbol for the city of Ypres, but is also of great cultural and tourist value.”
“Fire brigade Westhoek prepared an intervention plan in collaboration with the city of Ypres to be able to act quickly and effectively in a possible fire in this historically valuable building. The exercise on 13 May is intended to test and optimize this plan in practice, following recent fires in historic buildings such as the Notre-Dame in Paris and the Beursgebouw.