Campus Vesta: unique in Belgium: mock chemical installation for fire service exercises

On Campus Vesta in Ranst, the training centre for the police and fire service, construction has started on a unique exercise complex for tackling industrial fires. From 2022, all of the fire zones in Belgium as well as the fire service teams will be able to carry out exercises in a mocked-up chemical installation. This concerns a steel construction three stories high, fitted with pipelines and a tanker storage park. The infrastructure is unique in our country. The exercise complex is costing 7 million euros and is being collectively financed by the province of Antwerp and the Sevesofonds, to which many of the businesses from the sector contribute.

The show-piece at the industrial exercise complex is the processing building, a flexible three-dimensional cube made of steel where a fire can be set in various locations and on various floors and where, in turn, different exercise scenarios can be elaborated. As well as this stunning construction, the technical specifications are ingenious too. Fires can be created, managed and secured remotely. Instructors are therefore able to guarantee safety via remote control, from a control tower. Thanks to the use of LPG and industrial spirit, there will be minimal impact on the environment.