All firefighter unions are called to demonstrate on Thursday in Paris. Firefighters are particularly concerned about the lack of measures put in place to protect their health.
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Firefighters demonstrate in Paris on Thursday May 16. All unions are calling for mobilization. They are demanding an increase in the fire bonus which rewards the courage and dedication of professionals. They are also asking for a financial benefit for firefighters mobilized during the Olympic Games. Exactly like the police or RATP agents.
But their main demand is to be better protected against toxic substances. “A fire produces around 200 different gases. And of course, our outfits don’t filter everything. They are there primarily to stop us from the heatexplains Michaël, firefighter in a barracks in Yvelines. A lot of things slip through and, unfortunately, get under our skin.”he summarizes.
To overcome this problem, outfits are treated using products containing PFAS, eternal pollutants, some of which have proven carcinogenic effects. “The waterproofing agents we use to protect our fire gear contain PFAS, the foam concentrates used to make the foam contain PFAS. We are confronted much more than other types of populations with these pollutants. says Jean-Baptiste Auger, firefighter in Châteauroux and representative of the CGT union.
“We already spend time away from our family, if it’s to recover from illnesses it’s less time with our loved ones.”
Michaël, firefighter in Yvelinesat franceinfo
He is reassured thanks to a decontamination protocol. Once they arrive at the barracks, the officers must enter the fire locker room. “We put on our fire gear with a few small things, he explains. It is closed on both sides. We can therefore change directly and take our shower here, without going upstairs and polluting our rooms.”
But this provision is not found in all barracks. This is the problem, according to Sébastien Mallevre, member of the independent union of professional firefighters: “There is little, if any, obligation to preserve the health of firefighters. We want the employer to be forced to take responsibility.”
For the moment, no study links cancers developed by certain firefighters and PFAS, and there are no occupational diseases specifically recognized for firefighters in France. Sébastien Mallevre would therefore like us to take inspiration from the Canadian system, which makes it possible to legally recognize an occupational illness when a firefighter presents certain predefined symptoms.
Thanks to this recognition, the firefighters concerned could notably receive financial assistance. This would also make it possible to better observe the risks they face, in particular by developing statistics: “If we recognize, we start to count. If we start to count, we can analyze better, we can fight better”, continues Sébastien Mallevre. Regarding PFAS, Sébastien Delavoux, firefighter leader of the CGT SDIS collective, asks for each firefighter to be tested “to know the level of exposure”.
The Interior Ministry claims to hear these demands. It has already launched new hoods, indicates Tiphaine Pineau, director of firefighters at civil security: “Today the hood filters at 10 or 15%, and the future hood will achieve a filtration rate of around 75%, or more.”
But obviously this will take time. Numerous studies are also planned in the coming months to better quantify the exposure of French firefighters to toxic substances.