A long cherished wish of the Brabant fire brigade has finally come true. A special team for extinguishing wildfires can be deployed from Saturday: the South Netherlands Handcrew. After huge fires in, among other things, the Deurnese Peel nature reserve, the south fought for its own team. “We now have much more strength than with the Peel fires,” says team leader Frank van Krieken of the North Brabant fire brigade.
It is the second fire service unit in the Netherlands that specializes in fighting wildfires. During the enormous wildfires in 2020, this team still had to come from Overijssel, which meant that valuable time was lost.
“This own team is therefore very important. I am very happy and proud,” says Van Krieken cheerfully. “We can now get to the fire faster. We are better trained, better equipped and also more efficient. We now have much more strength than with the Peel fires.”
Rakes and chainsaws
The team comes to places where firefighting vehicles cannot go. The members of the hand crew go into nature on foot in small groups to fight the fire. They use special tools such as shovels, rakes, chainsaws and leaf blowers. The much more mobile teams also have water backpacks with which we can extinguish small fires.
“This team is much more about removing fuel than about putting out the fire,” explains Van Krieken. For example, the handcrew digs and cuts trenches near the fire. Plants and roots are then removed, creating a so-called stop line. The flames are then literally stopped: the fire cannot spread any further.
The team can be recognized by its striking yellow suits. These firemen and women have clothing that is lighter, breathes better, absorbs and releases more moisture and prevents overheating.
More chance of wildfire
“Now that there are more and more longer, drier periods, the chance of wildfires is also increasing. It is quite conceivable that a wildfire can start in several places at the same time. We have experienced that before,” says Sraar Theeuwen of the Limburg-Noord fire brigade.
See how the team works in the video:
Images of the sky clearly show the extent of the damage in De Peel in 2020: