Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen (BVLAR) is the rescue zone for the Flemish Ardennes in southern East Flanders: 13 municipalities around Oudenaarde, Ronse and Zottegem, with 185,781 residents on 551 km² of hills, villages and the Scheldt valley. At the end of 2025 it had 406 firefighters, 386 of them volunteers, working from eight posts, plus 35 ambulance staff. Its ambulances make just under 3,000 runs a year. In an emergency, dial 112.
Zone headquarters (non-emergency)
+32 55 60 18 00- info@bvlar.be (jobs: jobs@bvlar.be)
- Bedrijvenpark Coupure 21, 9700 Oudenaarde, Belgium
- bvlar.be
- Office hours: Mon–Fri 9:00–12:00 and 13:30–16:00 (closed on public holidays)
Who Provides Fire Protection in the Flemish Ardennes
Since 2015, Belgian fire services are organized in rescue zones (hulpverleningszones) run by their member municipalities. BVLAR covers 13:
- Towns: Oudenaarde, Ronse, Zottegem
- Other municipalities: Brakel, Herzele, Horebeke, Kluisbergen, Kruisem, Lierde, Maarkedal, Sint-Lievens-Houtem, Wortegem-Petegem, Zwalm
Lierde joined on January 1, 2025, from Hulpverleningszone Zuid-Oost. Kruisem is the 2019 merger of Kruishoutem and Zingem.
On December 31, 2025, the zone had 20 career firefighters (beroeps), most of them officers, and 386 volunteers (vrijwilligers), plus 2 career and 33 volunteer ambulance staff and about 14 full-time administrative and technical staff. Fire crews are volunteers who must first reach their post after the alarm.
Fire Posts in Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen
| Post | Type | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post Kruisem | Volunteer | Warandestraat 2, 9770 Kruisem | Ambulance |
| Post Sint-Lievens-Houtem | Volunteer | Keiberg 24a, 9521 Sint-Lievens-Houtem | Deco/rehab team |
| Post Herzele | Volunteer | Mergellaan 75, 9550 Herzele | Ambulance |
| Post Oudenaarde (HQ) | Volunteer | Bedrijvenpark Coupure 21, 9700 Oudenaarde | Ambulance, zone HQ |
| Post Zottegem | Volunteer | Meengracht 2, 9620 Zottegem | |
| Post Kluisbergen | Volunteer | Berchemstraat 55 B, 9690 Kluisbergen | Deco/rehab team |
| Post Brakel | Volunteer | Neerstraat 97, 9660 Brakel | Breathing-air compressor |
| Post Ronse | Volunteer | Veemarkt 28, 9600 Ronse |
Posts have no public phone numbers; use the zone's general number. Dial 112 for emergencies.
Estimated Response Time
Eight posts share about 551 km², so the average distance to the nearest post is roughly 4.7 km (2.9 mi). With about 340 residents per km², the zone is semi-rural, and its fire crews are volunteers who must first reach their post, so we use the volunteer column of our baseline table. Hilly roads in the Flemish Ardennes can add time.
| Radius | Volunteer posts |
|---|---|
| ≤ 2.4 km | 8–12 min |
| 2.4–4.8 km | 10–14 min |
| 4.8–9.7 km | 12–18 min |
| > 9.7 km | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 10–14 minutes for most addresses; 12–18 minutes for outlying hamlets far from a post. The zone does not publish measured arrival times.
Estimated Fire Control Time
| Fire size | Example | Indicative time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Grass patch, dumpster, small vehicle | 5–20 min |
| Medium | Room-and-contents, car fully involved | 15–45 min |
| Large | Whole house, commercial unit | 45–120 min |
| Major | Multi-alarm, industrial, large woodland fire | 2–12+ hours |
The zone's 2025 report lists typical cases: house and roof fires, farm fires, a castle fire in Wortegem-Petegem that took 649 work hours, a basement fire involving a home battery in Ronse, chemical spills handled by the industry and hazmat team (IGS), serious road crashes, and a crane-truck fire on the N60. Building fires rose again in 2025, chimney fires fell for the fifth year in a row, and callouts for automatic fire alarms were up 83% on 2020. Since 2024, deco/rehab teams from Kluisbergen and Sint-Lievens-Houtem support crews with decontamination and rest after fires.
Apparatus & Equipment
No full fleet list or vehicle count is published. In 2025 the zone put into service two ambulances (Herzele, Oudenaarde), five logistics vehicles (Zottegem, Herzele, Sint-Lievens-Houtem, two in Ronse) and a crew van, and bought a breathing-air compressor for Brakel and 75 sets of turnout gear.
- Ambulance (3 posts)
- Hazmat (IGS)
- Deco/rehab
- Breathing air
Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen in Numbers (2025)
- Just under 3,000 ambulance runs a year since 2022 (half by the Herzele ambulance in 2024)
- 61% of fire-service interventions are technical and 4% involve hazardous materials
- 1,100 fire-prevention advice reports (963 in 2024)
- Total interventions: not published in text form (shown only as charts in the report)
Services & Community Programs
- Volunteer and ambulance recruitment: vacancies on bvlar.be, jobs@bvlar.be.
- Wasps, flooding and storm damage: use the request forms on the zone's site, not email.
Ratings & Accreditation
Belgium has no public fire-protection rating comparable to the US ISO classification. Not applicable.
Outdoor burning: Flemish environmental rules ban burning any waste in the open air, garden waste included. The Flemish Environment Agency lists only narrow exceptions, such as campfires with dry untreated wood and folklore fires with written municipal permission; drought bans can restrict even these. Compost garden waste or take it to a recyclagepark, and ask your municipality before lighting any outdoor fire.
Neighboring Rescue Zones
- Brandweerzone Centrum, East Flanders (north)
- Hulpverleningszone Zuid-Oost, East Flanders (east)
- Hulpverleningszone Fluvia, West Flanders (west)
- Zone de secours de Wallonie picarde, Hainaut Province (south)
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for the fire service in Oudenaarde?
Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen's office is +32 55 60 18 00 (Bedrijvenpark Coupure 21, Oudenaarde), weekdays during office hours. For any fire or medical emergency, dial 112.
Which municipalities does Brandweerzone Vlaamse Ardennen cover?
Brakel, Herzele, Horebeke, Kluisbergen, Kruisem, Lierde, Maarkedal, Oudenaarde, Ronse, Sint-Lievens-Houtem, Wortegem-Petegem, Zottegem and Zwalm.
Are the firefighters in the Flemish Ardennes paid?
Mostly volunteers: 386 of the zone's 406 firefighters are volunteers. The 20 career staff are mostly officers.
How fast does the fire service respond in the Flemish Ardennes?
The zone does not publish arrival times. Our estimate is about 10–14 minutes for most addresses, longer for remote hamlets.
Can I burn garden waste in Oudenaarde or Ronse?
No. Flemish rules ban burning garden waste in the open air, with narrow exceptions. Compost it or use a recycling park, and ask your municipality before any outdoor fire.
Last verified:
- FPS Home Affairs — Rescue zone contacts (April 2026) (members, HQ)
- BVLAR — About us (posts and addresses, 13 municipalities, staff)
- BVLAR — Contact (phone, email, office hours)
- BVLAR — Activity report 2025 (personnel, ambulance, interventions, vehicles)
- VMM — FAQ on outdoor burning
- Wikipedia NL — Hulpverleningszone Vlaamse Ardennen (population and area citing Statbel, history, neighbors)