These are the final hours of the individual helmets for firefighters in the Loire (SDIS 42), according to our colleagues at the Progress. Five fire stations in the department are trialling the new collective helmet, the Heros Titan. What does it look like? A technological marvel: fluorescent yellow in colour, with a built-in radio, microphone and torch, and a wide visor.
The new helmet will be tested until the end of the year at the fire stations in Roanne, Séverine in Saint-Étienne, Saint-Chamond, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château and Saint-Romain-le-Puy.
During 2019, all the other fire stations in the department will be kitted out. That amounts to nearly 900 helmets for 2,800 firefighters.
But the phasing out of individual helmets is also causing some unease amongst firefighters, who are attached to this powerful symbol of their role as fire soldiers.