The mayor of Troisvierges has sought to clarify that the municipal council is responsible for lodging a demand for a new heliport for Luxembourg's Air Rescue helicopter.

Mayor Edy Mertens took umbrage at the suggestion that the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) had approached the municipality, when instead it was the other way round.

Troisvierges municipal council reached out to the CGDIS to discuss the construction of a new fire station on a one-hectare site between the town's industrial zone and the N12. A heliport was not initially part of the plans, but a request was later made to the Ministry of the Environment regarding permission to build the fire station and the heliport on the same site.

Den Edy Mertens

Mertens said the request had been made under the previous environment minister, Joelle Welfring, but that the council had not received a response until this spring from the new minister, who said the CGDIS barracks and the heliport should be strictly separated.

Now the municipality must order new studies, including a strategic environmental survey, in order to build the fire station. The Air Rescue must file a separate demand for a heliport themselves. The mayor declared himself optimistic that the new barracks would be built on the site, named "Op Stackem".

"The interior minister, Léon Gloden, visited the site with me personally and agreed it was a good idea to build a station for the CGDIS, as it will mean the emergency services will have better access to the N12, and there will be less noise near the town when they are conducting training exercises."

As for the heliport, Mertens said the council had filed a request for the Air Rescue helicopter to be stationed in Troisvierges. A second heliport in the north of the country would be crucial for dispensing medical treatment, and the Air Rescue founder  René Closter is himself a Troisvierges native.