More than 80% of Dutch fire stations lack backup power for major outages
The majority of fire stations in the Netherlands are unprepared for large-scale, prolonged power outages, with over 80 percent lacking permanent backup generators, according to a recent survey by Trouw. This vulnerability reportedly threatens the ability of emergency services to operate effectively during extended electricity failures.
Data collected by Trouw from 19 of the country’s 25 safety regions (veiligheidsregio’s) shows a stark disparity in readiness among fire stations. Especially concerning is the situation in volunteer fire stations, which allegedly predominantly lack fixed emergency power sources.
In the safety region of Brabant Zuidoost, only one out of 37 fire stations has a permanent backup generator. By contrast, more than half of the fire stations in the safety region of Twente are equipped with emergency power. Some stations are fitted with generator hookups, have rental agreements for temporary units, or rely on vehicles with built-in power supplies, but officials warn these stopgaps may not be enough in the event of widespread outages.
Jaap Donker, director of the Utrecht safety region and the national portfolio holder for resilience, described the situation as “very worrying,” saying it matches what his region has seen in its own assessments. He stressed that emergency services are unprepared for extended or region-wide blackouts. “During local outages, nearby stations can often help out,” Donker told Trouw. “But we are not equipped for large-scale or national blackouts.”
He likened the situation to a plane crash: “Just like you have to put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others, our responders need power to keep communication and operations running.”
One of the biggest vulnerabilities, Donker said, is in the communication networks that connect emergency responders and dispatch centers. The system has “very limited backup,” he told Trouw, and called for an independent analog network to serve as a fallback in major power failures.
In the Amsterdam-Amstelland safety region, only five of the 19 fire stations have fixed backup power. Others have generator hookups or supply contracts, but a regional spokesperson warned that such arrangements remain untested in the event of mass outages, like the ones recently seen in Spain and Portugal.
“If many organizations call in their generator contracts at once, there may not be enough to go around,” the spokesperson said. “That raises real doubts about how reliable these deals actually are.”
Several safety regions are now reportedly weighing the purchase of permanent generators. Donker is calling for all 965 fire stations in the Netherlands to be equipped with both emergency power and backup communication systems. He said these upgrades are essential now that fire stations are expected to serve as key hubs in future crisis response. “Preparing for a scenario of long-term, nationwide blackouts is now a realistic necessity,” Donker said.
