Brussels firefighter Olivier Francotte honored at funeral service

A funeral service was held on Monday at the Koekelberg Basilica to honor Olivier Francotte, a 50-year-old sergeant-major with the Brussels Fire Service. Francotte died on August 14 during an intervention following a gas leak at an EU building on Treurenberg. The leak was caused when a contractor accidentally damaged a low-pressure pipe, leading to two explosions.

During the ceremony, Francotte was posthumously promoted to the rank of adjudant and awarded the Civil Cross First Class. The procession included a guard of honor formed by hundreds of firefighters and police officers, with the coffin transported in a fire truck.

In addition to local emergency responders, the service was attended by representatives from the Royal Palace, European institutions, and delegations from France and the Netherlands. One fellow firefighter and two Sibelga employees were also seriously injured in the incident.