"It takes us to the heart": in Gironde, firefighters affected by the solidarity of volunteers

Chloé Lagadou (special correspondent to Hostens) 9:03 a.m., August 15, 2022

REPORTAGE

The fire that has ravaged 7,400 hectares of forest since August 9, near Landiras, south of Bordeaux, is "now fixed", announced on Sunday, the sub-prefect of Arcachon, Ronan Leaustic.

But, firefighters continue to fight on the ground to put out the fire completely.

And they are not the only ones still mobilized.

Volunteers on site continue to take care of the firefighters.

At the command post in Hostens, these shadow soldiers take care of enormous logistics.

Meals, cooking, hygiene products: they do everything to relieve the firefighters. 

Volunteers go to great lengths to take care of firefighters

The features drawn, the firefighters return exhausted to the base camp after hours of work.

When they arrive in the morning, Pascale is there to serve them a good cup of coffee.

"They appreciate being spoken to, they appreciate the smile, they appreciate the morning greeting. Afterwards, there is a lot of fatigue, yes, but always a smile", she confides at the microphone of Europe 1.

Precisely, when they are tired, they can go to the massage table.

Christine makes every effort to take care of the firefighters.

"I present it to them by saying, 'Okay, you put yourself in the chair. And it's a bit of a break. In fact, you come here and I'm going to give you a boost. I'm going to give you some energy. 'energy.'

I think we're so grateful. We all want to give so much and at the height of our skills. I can't put out the fire, so I tell myself that I'm just bringing them relaxation," he explains. -she on Europe 1. 

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"It takes us to the guts"

This solidarity means a lot to Jérôme.

This Girondin chief sergeant has been mobilized on fire for more than a month.

"It grabs our guts, it grabs our hearts. We've never seen that in our life and I don't think we'll experience it again. When we've [lived the] flames and we get here, what 'we meet all these people, it's very very good,' he confides with emotion. 

Every day, volunteers take turns serving nearly 8,000 meals.

Despite the fatigue, they continue to support the firefighters, always in a good mood.