Zone de secours Vesdre-Hoëgne & Plateau (VHP) is the rescue zone for 19 municipalities around Verviers, Spa and Herve, from the Vesdre and Hoëgne valleys to the Herve plateau and the High Fens: about 236,000 residents on roughly 800 km². Its 427 firefighters, 314 of them volunteers and 113 career, work from eight posts. The zone also runs ambulances, with more than 17,000 medical calls a year. In July 2021 floods hit three of its fire stations and brought about 3,300 missions in three days. In an emergency, dial 112.
Zone headquarters (non-emergency)
+32 87 47 97 00- One number for headquarters and all posts; storm or flood help: 1722.be
- info@zone-vhp.be
- Rue Simon Lobet 36, 4800 Verviers, Belgium
- zone-vhp.be
- Office hours: Not published
Who Provides Fire Protection in Zone de secours Vesdre-Hoëgne & Plateau
Since 2015, Belgian fire services are organized in rescue zones (zones de secours) run by their member municipalities. Zone VHP was created on July 1, 2015, and covers 19:
- Vesdre and Hoëgne valleys: Verviers, Dison, Limbourg, Pepinster, Theux, Spa, Jalhay, Trooz, Olne and Sprimont.
- Herve plateau and Basse-Meuse: Herve, Soumagne, Blegny, Dalhem, Aubel, Thimister-Clermont.
- East: Welkenraedt, Baelen and Plombières.
The zone has about 450 operational staff: 427 firefighters (314 volunteers, or pompiers volontaires, and 113 career firefighters, or pompiers professionnels), 29 civilian ambulance crew and 40 administrative and technical staff. It does not publish staffing by post; its 2021 report lists career promotions only at Verviers. Dial 112: the zone's own dispatch, shared with neighboring Zone 5 Warche Amblève Lienne, alerts the nearest crews.
Fire Posts in Zone de secours Vesdre-Hoëgne & Plateau
| Post | Type | Location | Specialist teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poste de Limbourg | Volunteer | Bêverie 35B, 4830 Limbourg | Not published |
| Poste de Pepinster | Not published | Rue Jean Simon 7, 4860 Pepinster | Ambulance, rope rescue (GRIMP) |
| Poste du Plateau | Volunteer | Rue de Maëstricht 51, 4651 Battice (Herve) | Ambulance |
| Poste de Plombières | Volunteer | Rue de la Poste 46, 4850 Plombières | Rope rescue (GRIMP) |
| Poste de Spa | Not published | Rue Brixhe 1, 4900 Spa | Ambulance, rope rescue (GRIMP) |
| Poste de Theux | Volunteer | Rue de la Hoëgne 41, 4910 Theux | Rope rescue (GRIMP), zone workshop |
| Poste de Verviers (HQ) | Career + volunteer | Rue Simon Lobet 36, 4800 Verviers | Ambulances, rope rescue (GRIMP) |
| Poste de Welkenraedt | Volunteer | Rue Mitoyenne 229, 4840 Welkenraedt | Ambulance, rope rescue (GRIMP) |
Post types are indicative: "Volunteer" marks posts where the 2021 report lists only volunteer promotions. The Plateau post replaced the former Battice and Herve posts. Posts have no separate numbers; call +32 87 47 97 00 or, in an emergency, 112.
Estimated Response Time
Eight posts share about 800 km², so the average distance to the nearest post is roughly 5.6 km (3.5 mi). With about 295 residents per km² and mostly volunteer crews, we use the combination column of our baseline table for Verviers and the volunteer column for the other posts, whose crews must first reach the station. Distances are longest in the High Fens above Jalhay and in rural Sprimont, Dalhem and Aubel.
| Radius | Verviers (combination) | Volunteer posts |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 2.4 km | 5–8 min | 8–12 min |
| 2.4–4.8 km | 7–10 min | 10–14 min |
| 4.8–9.7 km | 9–13 min | 12–18 min |
| > 9.7 km | 13+ min | 18+ min |
Typical expectation: about 7–10 minutes in Verviers and Dison; 10–14 minutes in most other towns; 12–18 minutes or more in remote Fagnes and plateau villages. The zone does not publish its own 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 ranges from dense old streets in Verviers to farmland on the Herve plateau and woods and peat moor in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), covered by a dedicated emergency plan (Plan Fagnes); the zone has also studied a forest-fire truck. Several posts run forest-fire vehicles. Summer youth camps add risk: in 2021 fire-safety advisers visited 149 camps. Large fires usually need crews from several volunteer posts, so control can take longer than in a career city.
Apparatus & Equipment
No full fleet list is published. Figures from the zone's website and 2021 report:
- Ambulances (7 emergency, 1 paramedic PIT, 2 reserve)
- 10
- Ambulance crews on duty 24/7
- 8
- Electric extrication kits for multipurpose pumpers
- 14
- Aerial ladder ordered in 2021
- 1
The zone also has a chemical unit (CMIC), a pollution-response vehicle, a command post (PC Ops), container carriers with crane and forest-fire vehicles.
- Rope rescue (GRIMP)
- Animal rescue (ART)
- Hazmat (CMIC)
- Pollution
- Flood & pumping
- Wildland fires
- Ambulance (EMS)
Zone VHP in Numbers (2021)
- 4,068 fire and rescue calls and 15,073 ambulance runs, excluding the flood days of July 14–16
- Most fire calls by municipality: Verviers 1,034, Herve 326, Theux 277, Spa 259, Sprimont 231
- July 2021 floods: about 3,300 missions in three days; up to 184 staff in the field at once; the Theux, Pepinster and Limbourg stations flooded; 11 vehicles damaged, 8 written off; the zone's report lists 38 deaths
- Animal Rescue Team: 35 members, 114 calls from April to December 2021
Services & Community Programs
- Volunteer and career recruitment: see zone-vhp.be/recrutement.
- Fire prevention and emergency planning (prévention, planification d'urgence): building permits, event safety and youth-camp fire-safety visits.
Ratings & Accreditation
Belgium has no public fire-protection rating comparable to the US ISO classification. Not applicable.
Outdoor burning: In Wallonia, burning waste in the open air is banned. The only exception is dry natural plant waste, burned under the Rural Code (Code rural, art. 89) and the Forest Code: at least 100 m from homes and from hedges, orchards, crops and other flammable material, and at least 25 m from woods. Municipal police rules can set hours or ban all burning in drought or wind; take extra care near the Fagnes. Ask your commune first, or take garden waste to a recyparc.
Neighboring Rescue Zones
- Liège Zone 2 IILE-SRI, Liège Province (west: Visé, Fléron, Chaudfontaine, Esneux)
- Zone de secours HEMECO, Liège Province (southwest: Comblain-au-Pont)
- Zone de secours 5 Warche Amblève Lienne, Liège Province (south: Aywaille, Stavelot, Malmedy, Waimes)
- Zone de secours DG, Liège Province (east: La Calamine, Lontzen, Eupen)
- Brandweerzone Oost-Limburg, Limburg (north: Voeren)
- Netherlands and Germany (northeast, at Plombières)
FAQ
What is the non-emergency number for the fire service in Verviers?
The zone's single number for headquarters and all posts is +32 87 47 97 00 (Rue Simon Lobet 36, Verviers). For any fire or medical emergency, dial 112.
Which municipalities does Zone VHP cover?
Aubel, Baelen, Blegny, Dalhem, Dison, Herve, Jalhay, Limbourg, Olne, Pepinster, Plombières, Soumagne, Spa, Sprimont, Theux, Thimister-Clermont, Trooz, Verviers and Welkenraedt.
Are VHP's firefighters volunteers?
Mostly: 314 of the zone's 427 firefighters are volunteers and 113 are career firefighters, working from eight posts.
How fast does the fire service respond around Verviers and Spa?
The zone does not publish arrival times. Our estimate is about 7–10 minutes in Verviers and Dison and 10–14 minutes in most other towns, longer in remote Fagnes villages.
Can I burn garden waste in the VHP zone?
Only dry natural plant waste, under the Walloon Rural Code: at least 100 m from homes and hedges and 25 m from woods, subject to municipal rules. Burning other waste is banned. Ask your commune first.
Last verified:
- FPS Home Affairs — Rescue zone contacts (April 17, 2026) (members, HQ, phone, website)
- Zone VHP — À propos (personnel, population, area, posts, special units)
- Zone VHP — Contact (post addresses, phone)
- Zone VHP — Rapport d'activités 2021 (calls, ambulances, floods, teams)
- L'Avenir — Floods: 3,300 missions (2022) (flood missions, calls by municipality)
- RTBF — Garden fires: rules and distances (2026)
- Wikipedia FR — neighbors: Sprimont, Jalhay, Baelen, Plombières, Aubel, Fléron