Firemen block traffic during protest against budget cuts

(7 Oct 2013) Belgian firemen were protesting against national budget cuts for the fire department in Brussels on Monday. Firemen from all the country gathered in front of Prime Minister’s office with fire trucks and blocked traffic in Brussels’ ring road. They burned tyres in the streets and sprayed water and foam towards police guarding the protest. At some point police officers stood knee-deep in foam on the street. Talks are ongoing on the ministerial level on the new Belgian budget, and firemen are protesting against cuts in their insurance benefits and insufficient staffing. Marc Gilbert, President of Royal Federation of Belgian Firemen said fire departments had had enough and needed to be funded again. “We are fed up, we are representing the population, and we are more than fed up actually that in terms of fire safety we do not have the proper means to work,“ he said Julien Gillet, a lieutenant at the Mouscron fire brigade said they won’t stage further actions for the moment as discussions were