After twenty years of struggle, there is finally recognition for former firefighter Ruud Lohuis (63) from Emmen. Due to 25 serious incidents at the then professional fire brigade of Emmen, he suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). And according to the highest court for civil servants, the Central Council of Appeal, the municipality of Emmen is liable for this. Because it lacked aftercare.
Lohuis is happy that after years of fighting ‘the truth is finally emerging’. “I’m a fighter, and I’ve always held on. It’s paying off now.” But the Emmenaar is not in a victory rush. The pain over the whole event is predominant, and all traumatic incidents are still sharp on his retina.
“It is more a confirmation of what happened to me. For more than twenty years my complaints were not taken seriously, I was not heard during all that time. There has never been adversarial action, except in the trial of this highest court. I was finally able to tell my story there.”
On the day of the verdict in mid-June, his lawyer Ferre van de Nadort called the former firefighter enthusiastically. “He said to me, ‘Ruud, you’ve won, just open a nice bottle to celebrate’. But I’m not that far yet that there is something to celebrate. It still feels double. The pain of all the events is still close to the surface, it can make me emotional again,” says the hefty Lohuis, who is a broken man through everything.