One Hundred and Fifty

Severe thunderstorms and lightning strikes on Monday evening led to an exceptionally busy night for firefighters across the north and north-west of Luxembourg. Between 9:30pm and 10pm alone, the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) responded to three major incidents.[1]

In Troine, a barn caught fire after a lightning strike. Forty firefighters were deployed to bring the blaze under control. Earlier in the evening, lightning also struck a residence on a street in Pommerloch, setting the roof alight. Around twenty firefighters were dispatched to contain that fire. In Landscheid, in the municipality of Tandel, hundreds of straw bales caught fire, resulting in a blaze stretching over 250 metres.[2]

In total, more than 150 firefighters from almost every rescue centre in the north of the country were deployed across the various incidents. One firefighter sustained minor injuries. To coordinate the widespread response, the CGDIS activated its operations management centre. Shortly before 9:30pm, a vegetation fire also broke out in Heffingen. Earlier in the day, just after 5pm in Altrier, an agricultural machine caught fire.[3]

The CGDIS Director General said last week that Luxembourg's forests are at lower risk of devastating wildfires than southern Europe. He was right. Lower risk is not no risk. Monday night proved it: lightning does not check whether the trees beneath it are deciduous or coniferous before it strikes. A barn full of hay is a barn full of hay. A roof is a roof. Hundreds of straw bales stretched across 250 metres do not care about the species mix of the surrounding forest. The operations management centre was activated because the incidents were spread across the entire north of the country, and coordinating 150 firefighters from almost every rescue centre requires exactly that kind of central command. One firefighter was injured. The outcome could have been worse.[4]