Tarn-et-Garonne: a firefighter dies during a drill

"We are used to facing dangers during rescue operations, but we are also vulnerable to this sort of tragedy, with no warning signs whatsoever," Colonel Jean-Louis Ferrès, commander of SDIS 82, told our colleagues at France•tv. A volunteer firefighter with the Tarn-et-Garonne Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS) lost his life on Saturday evening whilst on call in the department. The 40-year-old man, father to a 7-year-old daughter, had started his shift on Saturday morning at the Montech fire station. It was whilst doing physical exercise at the station that he began to feel unwell. His colleagues immediately attended to him and he was taken to Montauban. He lost consciousness during the journey. After suffering several cardiac episodes and receiving initial treatment at the Pont de Chaumes clinic, the firefighter was transferred to Montauban General Hospital. It was there that he was pronounced dead at around 7 pm. “He was a very fit man,” said Colonel Ferrès, “and we were, of course, monitoring his health, as we do for every firefighter. But just like with a top-level athlete, this sort of thing can happen without warning.” The firefighter was indeed a member of the departmental fire service rugby team, which had recently been crowned regional champions and was due to compete in the French championship. Before becoming a volunteer firefighter in Montech, he was stationed in Verdun-sur-Garonne. On Sunday, the management of SDIS 82 is due to visit the Montech fire station to support the colleagues of the deceased firefighter. A counselling service is expected to be set up. The death of this firefighter whilst on duty has prompted numerous expressions of grief amongst emergency services professionals across France, notably from the Director-General of Civil Security.