The Dinant citadel took part in a special exercise: emergency evacuation to avoid any catastrophe. The objective? Test the organization and coordination of emergency services in the event of a fire, but also how to preserve works of art.
Thick black smoke invades the attic of the Collegiate Church of Dinant. The exercise is delicate, with 147 steps to climb first. Once on site, the firefighters analyze how to bring the water.
“Given the difficulty, two options are available to us: either we draw lines from the bottom of the stairs, which is very complicated. Or, from a second perspective, we could use aerial vehicles which are outside“, explains Kévin Pigneur, adjutant at the “Dinaphi” rescue zone.
The Collegiate Church of Dinant on fire: a scenario that firefighters hope to never experience, but for which we must prepare, especially since the fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in 2019. Thanks to this exercise, firefighters practice and test, in particular, the length of pipe required.
“There is traffic management, there is tourist management, so we will have to work in agreement with the police, with the evacuation of the works afterwards to know where we are going to put them“, underlines Gaëtan Bouvé, lieutenant of the relief zone.
The firefighters have a priority list of works of art to preserve. A large medieval bust is one of them; instead of physically extracting it during this exercise, the firefighters carry weights which make it possible to simulate its evacuation.
“It’s a test that we never realize. This allows us to realize the possible difficulties that we could encounter in order to be able to evacuate them.“, testifies Warrant Officer Kévin Pigneur.
In the Wallonia-Brussels federation, religious buildings which hold property classified as treasures are required to establish an evacuation plan.
citadel of dinant firefighters
Related News :