Roll out hoses, pump up water and put out fires. At the youth fire brigade of Blaricum, Eemnes and Laren (BEL) they practice all facets of the fire service. Because there are currently no youth members from Laren, the call is clear: young people from Laren are welcome to sign up!
A call is heard through the walkie-talkie: “Fire in Blaricum, can you go there?” The young commander passes the instructions on to his teammates. “Small outdoor fire, as far as known no victims, the owner is on site.”
The fire was staged for the weekly exercise of the youth fire brigade in Blaricum, Eemnes and Laren, but the young people take the situation extremely seriously. Upon arrival, everyone quickly gets to work. The fire is inspected and the commander issues commands.
In the video below you can see how they rescue a victim from a burning house.
In no time water flows from a well in the street towards the fire truck. Tonight it is the shed of former firefighter Harrie van Boheemen that is supposedly on fire. He watches critically. “They pay attention, see where they need to be and then they take action. That’s not so bad after all.” And whether his shed can still be saved? “They have to be fast, otherwise I’ll have to buy a new roof.”
Fortunately, the fire consists of flashing lights and a box that makes crackling sounds. “It’s all fake, of course, but it’s a lot of fun to do,” says Danique (13) from Eemnes. Her father is with the fire brigade in Eemnes and after a practice day she decided to sign up for the youth fire brigade. “It’s different from many other sports, you learn a lot of different things and you get an idea of what it’s like in the fire service.”
In the second practice of the evening, there is also a victim in the shed. The poor man or woman – it’s hard to see – has to wait for the fire to be extinguished and is then taken to safety.
fire master
If the fictitious fire is under control, an evaluation will take place. “It went really well,” says Anita van Zon. She herself works for the Blaricum fire brigade and supervises the young people. “This group only started in September. The communication during an exercise can sometimes be a bit better, but they are doing really great,” she says.
At the moment they are looking for four youth members from Laren. “We already have young people from Blaricum and Eemnes and would like to add to the group,” explains supervisor Anita. “You have to be physically fit, because we do a lot of running and unrolling snakes. And you have to be social. It’s a very nice group, a lot of friendships are formed.”
Amber (13) from Huizen can confirm this. “It’s great fun, we do a lot of fun things together and you learn a lot. It’s just a really fun activity to do after school.” And Danique agrees with her. “I would like to say to everyone: just come and give it a try!”