Our colleagues at Ouest-France interviewed Colonel Éric Faure, president of the National Federation of French Fire Brigades (FNSPF).
Although one of the national representatives of the French fire service believes that the resources allocated to the profession are declining, the operational response was successfully maintained last summer and “it’s a miracle”, he says.
Forest fires, rescue operations… How was the summer?
« We’ve managed to meet all the summer’s needs, but it’s a miracle. The system is coming under increasing strain, because four out of five firefighters are volunteers “ replies the colonel, pointing to the professional ranks, which are beginning to dwindle. The same trend applies to the number of volunteers. “ We have hit rock bottom. There are currently 194,000 volunteers in France, which is not enough. Especially as we are constantly asking more of them " he told our colleagues.
What can we do, given that budgets are likely to keep shrinking?
« We need to take stock of the current situation in order to identify suitable solutions for the next two or three years. And we must be prepared to modernise without holding back. " he says, making no secret of his wish that certain transactions should be charged for.
SDIS 34 had also explained last July that it intended to conserve its staff by deploying them only for urgent call-outs and by increasingly charging for all operations classified as ‘convenience’.
« Charges are already levied in all departments for certain types of call-outs. This is necessary when firefighters are acting outside the scope of their normal duties, where there is no life-threatening emergency. Filling in where the company responsible for lift maintenance has failed is not a fire service duty, so charges must apply. But are we going to charge someone in distress on the street simply because they are intoxicated? If the person is homeless, who will pay? The person who makes the call? We must be careful not to create cumbersome systems that would be unmanageable. And we must not undermine the spirit of our social model. " he concluded, speaking once again to our colleagues at Ouest-France.