Firefighters’ spokesman calls for vigilance “to avoid calling for help” this summer

“Summer is a black spot for firefighters” explains Éric Brocardi on franceinfo because these “climate soldiers” have to deal with fires but also storms, hail, floods and floods.

Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for the National Federation of French Firefighters, called on franceinfo on Saturday July 6 for everyone to be vigilant, expressing his “worry” regarding the fire risk this summer. “Negligence and human attitude are responsible for 9 out of 10 fires in France”deplores the commander. “We have to live with forest fires, we have to live with climate change, and for that we have to adopt the right actions, the right behavior, which allows us to protect our family and all our fellow citizens.”insists Eric Brocardi.

“Summer is a black spot for firefighters”these “climate soldiers” who have to deal with fires but also storms, hail, floods and floods, he deplores. Eric Brocardi recommends “swim well in supervised areas, watch your children, be prepared and be well equipped” in case of high mountain activities, “to avoid calling on emergency services which will be in operational overstretch” with the fires and the Olympic Games this summer. He recalls that “The Olympic Games already mobilize nearly 5 000 daily firefighters in the Ile-de-France region.

Despite the heavy rainfall of recent months, “There are already departments that have increased their vigilance regarding forest fires”explains Éric Brocardi, citing for example Hérault, Gard and Aude. “No area is spared”notes the commander. “Today, the entire national territory is affected, it is also France that must come to the aid of its European colleagues, beyond our borders, it is all of Europe that is burning, it is the Arctic zones that are burning, it is Canada”or even California, warns the firefighters’ spokesman.

Eric Brocardi calls on leaders to “to prioritize” the fire sector “which requires all our vigilance” to allow that “the entire fleet, the air resources, and then the land resources, are put afloat correctly to allow an effective fight”. After the fires of 2022, column reinforcements had been raised. “We hope that it will be raised to the same level this summer so that we can mobilize 3 300 firefighters across all departments that need to be reinforced”the spokesperson said, because “the firefighters will be extremely mobilized.”