Angry firemen block central Brussels to demand more money

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Traffic in the center of Brussels came to a standstill on Monday as fire-fighters blocked main streets in the capital to demand more money from the government for their services.

Coming from all over the country, some 30 fire engines blocked the main streets leading to Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's residence building, creating chaos in an already congested city.

The protest took place as inside the building the government of Di Rupo was holding talks about the 2014 budget. The firemen fear the government will not earmark extra money for their industry. Last week they asked the government to earmark an extra 75 million euros for their work.

To put force behind their words, the firemen set fire to a pile of car tires, sending black smoke into the air, and hosed water and foam on riot police.

The firemen threaten to expand their action to blocking the airport and train stations if their demand to negotiate with