1,000 hectares of vegetation going up in smoke, and the first major devastating fire of the year. In the Pyrénées-Orientales, some 500 firefighters were mobilized, supported by six water bomber planes, on this fire declared last weekend in the heights of the municipalities of Cerbère and Banyuls-sur-Mer. The largest fire in France in 2023 broke out in a department particularly affected by the lack of precipitation and dry soil. Even if the incident is now under control, it raises fears of major conflagrations during the summer period.
Last year, 66,000 hectares of forest were devastated in the country, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis), a very high toll that testifies to a shift into a new reality for firefighters. . “We regularly talk about the earliness of the fires which are increasing, but we now realize that we have big fires in winter, as recently in February. What we see is that the fire seasons are ‘lengthen and we are almost facing whole years of forest fires,’ comments Rémy Chabbouh, firefighter in Lyon and national secretary of the Sud-SDIS union. In an attempt to meet this new standard, the government announced on April 11 a plan to strengthen firefighting resources. More water bombers, trucks, firefighters and soldiers, the plan is “unpublished”.
Airplanes and helicopters as reinforcements
In the field of aerial firefighting means, Gérald Darmanin assured that nine additional water bomber planes and helicopters will be mobilized in 2023, bringing the number of aircraft from 38 to 47, as well as a strengthening of efforts on recruiting new pilots. “There is currently real support from the government and from our minister Gérald Darmanin since there were many points pending with us: in terms of human functioning, recognition of a risky profession, revaluation”, notes Benoît Quennepoix, Dash-8 pilot, representative of the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Crew.
The first planes begin to arrive in the teams. “We have our eight Dashes, the last one that has been ordered arrives at the end of the month, and we have another Dash-8 leased from a private company which should be available from July 1st”, explains the pilot. On the territory, several units will be able to count on the reinforcement of rental devices, such as small light firefighting planes, and heavy helicopters capable of dropping water. “This initially makes it possible to cope with a peak in fire activity that we can fear and that we observed last year. But in the long term, with fires starting in April, if we begins to rent resources throughout the year, as the contracts are overpriced, it will be better to have our own resources”, tempers Benoît Quennepoix.
Especially since civil security pilots are still finding it difficult to recruit, in particular for Canadair pilots, several of whose instructors will be retiring. “At the level of the instructors we are limited, and in training capacity we are at full capacity, and that is just enough. This summer, if the training goes well, we will go up from 16 to 19 captains, which will be the minimum for this summer”, further warns Benoît Quennepoix.
In order of battle
Among the other announcements, 180 million euros allocated to the Departmental Fire and Rescue Services (SDIS) would allow the purchase of 1,100 fire-fighting devices, as well as nearly 500 additional firefighters to deal with the summer. How to find these human resources, while the SDIS are facing a difficulty in recruiting volunteer firefighters? The unions fear a displacement of forces to the detriment of certain sectors of their activity. “For the summer, these 500 additional firefighters we will have to go and get them from a pool of firefighters who are on duty. This means that we risk stripping the current risk, such as victim rescue…”, regrets Remy Chabbouh. Gérald Darmanin also affirmed that a fourth military training and civil security intervention unit, the creation of which had been announced in the fall by Emmanuel Macron, would be established in New Aquitaine, with the arrival of 565 soldiers.
On the territory, the regions most at risk have been known for a long time. In Gironde, where more than 30,000 hectares burned last year, air resources should be particularly reinforced. Four Air Tractor-type water bombers and a Dash will be positioned in Bordeaux from July 1, and a water bomber helicopter from June 1. In addition, two Canadairs can be positioned in Gironde for 48 hours in the event of a very high risk of fire.
In the department, the SDIS says it has put itself in “battle order”. Last summer, the intensity of the fires resulted in the damage of approximately 40% of the fleet of firefighting trucks. Major repair work is underway to restore them. “There has also been a lot of acquisition work. In fact, we are counting on normal capacity for this time of year, even if we still have a few vehicles overdue,” explains Matthieu Jomin, SDIS communication manager. 33. Nicolas Braz, head of the center, and union official SUD-SDIS 33, also notes that truck repair work has been done. But according to this firefighter, the strengthening of resources is also based on a certain number of truck loans between regions. If he is delighted with the announcement of the 1,100 machines to come by the Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Braz underlines the need to find the firefighters to arm them, considering “that the human means must converge with the means materials”.
Accentuate prevention
Finally, the extension of the fire risk on the territory, and in particular in departments hitherto spared, could make the fight for firefighters more difficult this summer. “What is very impressive is both the progress in time of the fire season and the fact that 50% of the fires last summer affected the north of the Loire”, underlined the Minister of l ‘Interior, Gerald Darmanin. How to correctly distribute the means of control on the territory when a good part of France is in a state of advanced drought? “If all of France burns, we will never have enough means”, notes Benoît Quennepoix. Loans of equipment between regions, as much as the leasing of planes and helicopters to private companies have their limits.
This is why firefighters also insist on the importance of fire risk education. “We have to be able to return to our prevention missions, and to the legal obligations of clearing brush, which are only 30% respected today”, underlines Nicolas Braz. When announcing the plan, the ministers also declared that the State will support preventive actions on the part of local authorities, and in particular concerning the legal obligations of clearing in the direction of private owners. A first step towards the attempt to control forest fires upstream.