Everyday precautions to prevent a fire from starting

Cigarettes: the number one cause of accidental deaths

A cigarette butt takes several minutes to go out completely and remains capable of setting dry grass alight long after it has been thrown away. When thrown from a car, it lands precisely where the roadside vegetation is driest. This is the leading identified cause of accidental fires in France — and it is also the easiest to prevent:

• By car : use a closed ashtray, never the window. Throwing a lit cigarette end out of a vehicle is an offence (a fine of up to Class 4, a fixed penalty of €135).
• Out for a walk : pocket ashtray (€2 at a tobacconist’s). A cigarette end ‘stamped out with your foot’ in pine shavings is not a fully extinguished cigarette end.
• At home : Soak them in water before throwing them in the bin — peat-based planters have already set terraces alight.

Vehicles and machinery: the heat we tend to overlook

• Parking : never drive over tall grass or stubble. The catalytic converter reaches temperatures of 300 to 600 °C : contact with dry vegetation is enough.
• Trailers and chains : A tow chain scraping against the tarmac sends sparks flying for kilometres. Check that your load is securely fastened before setting off.
• Agricultural machinery and landscaping equipment : Combine harvesters, mulchers and mowers cause a spate of fires every summer (a stone striking the machine = a spark). Work early in the morning, keep a supply of water or a fire extinguisher on the machine, and stop work when the wind picks up.
• Motorcycles and quad bikes On the trail: stay on the authorised tracks — the exhaust pipe scraping the grass is a hazard, and access to the mountain ranges is often regulated in summer.

Around the house

• Storage facilities : firewood, pallets, cardboard boxes, jerry cans and gas cylinders should be kept away from the front of the building (10 metres if possible), and never placed under a window or against a wall exposed to the prevailing wind. Full details in Protecting my home.
• Fixed barbecue : on a mineral slab, at least 5 metres from any vegetation, with a garden hose to hand. The full rules (and seasonal restrictions) : Fire, barbecue, burning.
• Garden waste : open-air burning is prohibited all year round for private individuals (Article L541-21-1 of the Environment Code) — take to a waste collection centre, shredder or compost heap. A fine of €450, or more if the fire gets out of control.
• Flammable products : petrol for the lawnmower, white spirit, gas cylinders — in a closed, well-ventilated room, out of the sun.

With the children

Keep lighters and matches out of reach, and above all: explain why. A child who understands why ‘you mustn’t play with fire outside’ becomes the family’s best advocate for fire safety. Show them the alert map, teach him the 112, and what an alert is FR-Alert.

The reflex that underpins everything: staying alert throughout the day

All these actions become crucial on days when the Forest weather changes to orange or red: dry vegetation + heat + wind. On days like these, put your lawnmower, angle grinder and barbecue on hold — and if you see any suspicious smoke, call the 112 (or on the 18th) straight away, then report the fire on the app to alert the community. Raising the alarm early gives the fire service those 10 minutes that make the difference between a grass fire and a disaster.