VIDEO
On September 5, 2018, the firefighter Geoffroy Henri died stabbed in full intervention. It is in response to this tragedy that the firefighters filed Thursday their plan to protect themselves. He was introduced to the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner in a context of repeated violence. Firefighters suffer 5 attacks per day on average.
The most innovative measure of the plan is to equip some firefighters with a camera during interventions. The black box, rectangular, will be fixed on the chest of the soldiers of the fire. The principle is to trigger the camera so that the potential aggressor realizes that it is filmed and calm. If this is not enough, the video will serve as evidence during any prosecution. The images will be kept for 6 months.
Three years of test phase
The initiative, very framed, does not concern all firefighters. Only some of them will be equipped with the device. In addition, the measure will apply only in Val-d'Oise and Seine-Saint-Denis initially, before being extended to 9 departments. The test phase should last 3 years.
The plan also encourages firefighters to file a complaint in case of aggression, which is not always the case, and to improve the dialogue with so-called sensitive neighborhoods. For this last point, it is suggested to recruit volunteer firefighters in these areas.