• The Marseille firefighters battalion presented its fire prevention system for this summer 2022 campaign, which starts with an unprecedented drought.

  • In its purse, a new vehicle equipped with a telescopic mast with an infrared vision camera, and detectors in remote corners of the creeks massif.

  • The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, calls for reinforcements to ensure security during the summer and regrets having learned, from the

    Official Journal

    , of the change of command of the battalion at the beginning of July, in the heart of the battle against the fires. .

“This year is the year of all dangers”, launches Benoît Payan, the mayor of Marseille, the day after the 24 fire starts recorded in the department just for the day of Thursday.

“An unprecedented drought, winds expected to be violent, the number of tourists, everything is in place for fires to break out in Marseille territory”, he adds, presenting this Friday the device for prevention and protection against fires. forest fires for this campaign in the summer of 2022. A campaign that starts early therefore: "We have so far the level of drought of July 15", warns the vice-admiral of the battalion of marine firefighters of Marseille, Patrick Auger.

Throughout the summer, 450 firefighters and 45 vehicles will be mobilized every day on the ground, with the possibility of mounting up to 700 people in the event of a fire.

Cadets will also criss-cross the hiking trails and peri-urban areas of the Calanques National Park on mountain bikes.

“We decided this year to do a lot of prevention with the public, explains Patrick Augier.

On mistral days, you don't take out your barbecue, you don't take out your grinder.

And as always, don't throw your cigarette butt out the window.

If everyone does that, it's already the civic gesture of the summer.

»

200 fire detectors in the creeks

The battalion has also equipped itself with new means to detect outbreaks of fire as quickly as possible.

Experienced last year, the dirigible balloon will resume service near Luminy, for a vision 15 km around, and from the top of its 800 meters.

It will be completed with a new vehicle equipped with a 6-meter telescopic mast, baptized “Vamo” and stationed north of the city.

Its advantage?

Its normal and infrared vision camera, which allows night views.

And unlike drones, for example, which can be grounded by wind or water bombers, it can deploy at any time.

"This vehicle increases the vision of a situation, it will enlighten the command on a fight scenario", continues David Gaidet, chief of operations.

Especially since other images will enrich the view of Marseille firefighters: from the end of June, no less than 200 Bluetooth sensors will be installed in the Calanques massif, also a first.

“These are sort of fire sensors like in apartments, but adapted to forests, explains the vice-admiral.

With additional functionalities, since they are also equipped with chemical and hygrometry detectors which give the nature of the risks.

They will be positioned in sectors hidden by the hills, which in fact escape surveillance from afar.

Payan demands more resources from the State to spend the summer

The battalion of marine firefighters also equipped itself this year with a retardant product to add to the water, which can thus be sprayed by land.

Not to mention two dogs, trained to detect the Covid, and which will this summer detect the cause of the fire starts.

“These are always fires lit, most of the time inadvertently”, notes the vice-admiral, who recalls that last year, there were 240 fires in Marseille, for a burned area of ​​less than 20 hectares.

The technological development and acquisition of this new equipment cost the battalion nearly 700,000 euros.

“This will allow our elite unit to be ahead of the fire front,” says Benoît Payan, who warns “that he will not accept drastic cuts on the credits of the Marseille firefighters”.

According to his cabinet, state subsidies represent 7% of the battalion's budget, when it is 21% in Paris.

"We welcome more and more tourists, we will exceed one million inhabitants this summer," continues the mayor.

Can we continue to welcome so many people for a long time without regulating access to the creeks?

It belongs to the state.

The solutions are not ours, they are not there.

I called the Ministry of the Interior, we also lack reinforcements during the summer.

»

The mayor of Marseilles does not perceive as a sign of good will to have learned, through the voice of

the Official Journal

, of the appointment of a new vice-admiral of the battalion of firefighters of Marseilles.

He is due to take office in early July.

“At the time of entering an intense period of fire risk, the Ministry of the Armed Forces decided to change command!

“, accuses the mayor of Marseille.

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