French "wild' fires

[Spectrum]

Interesting read Blaze, so you are basically the French equivalent of the British RNLI ? keep up the good work if I was twenty years younger with my medical background I could have volunteered, but at my age I would be the one to need rescuing !

[Blaze]

... so you are basically the French equivalent of the British RNLI

The SNSM (Société Nationale de Sauveteurs en Mer) does several things : Lifeboats as in the RNLI, training of lifeguards for the beaches in summer, and team first aid training (PSE2 - same basic diplôme as the pompiers). We're both too old to be "embarqué" i.e. part of the boat crew, but we are Aide Formateurs for the first aid training. OH and I are both Permis Blanc ambulance drivers, i.e. licensed to transport members of the public (victims), which made us useful in Bordeaux.

[manonthemoon2]

Glad your home safe Blaze and how kind of the kennel owner.

[Headers]

Something that occurred to me yesterday. Asbestos roofing is quite common in 47. Our local Gamme verte which is massive was closed for 12 months so that they could remove the asbestos roof. Is it the same in Gironde? In which case the ash will contain some asbestos dust won’t it?
What are the long term consequences of nasty stuff in the ash?

[Blaze]

the ash will contain some asbestos dust won’t it?

Almost certainly. On the news last night they talked particularly about the commune of Le Porge where about 140 houses were destroyed. The demolition and clearing away of rubble could include the removal and disposal of asbestos. Those whose houses were destroyed will have to decide whether to stay and rebuild or move away. I could not possibly put myself in their shoes .... they have lost everything except their memories.

[L Austin France]

... so you are basically the French equivalent of the British RNLI

The SNSM (Société Nationale de Sauveteurs en Mer) does several things : Lifeboats as in the RNLI, training of lifeguards for the beaches in summer, and team first aid training (PSE2 - same basic diplôme as the pompiers). We're both too old to be "embarqué" i.e. part of the boat crew, but we are Aide Formateurs for the first aid training. OH and I are both Permis Blanc ambulance drivers, i.e. licensed to transport members of the public (victims), which made us useful in Bordeaux.

Wow! Respect.

[Loup-garou]

Yes Blaze and Other +1.

[Blaze]

One of the things that's really struck us is the incredible solidarity and humanity that has been shown. The number of volunteers was quite staggering - unsurprisingly we all wanted to do something to help. The pompiers volontaires have seen a big increase in the number of people wanting to join, which is great. That said, "the State" is going to have to pull its finger out and provide more funds for its emergency services because this sort of thing is likely to become more frequent during the summer months.

Edit : Just seen that Total Energies is going to pay for all the fuel used by the pompiers from the 1st July until the 31 August.
I hate to be the cynic - TE made whopping profits recently and of course they'll get a whopping tax break for their donation. TE gets to show it won't keep all its profit for itself ..........
The state does have a small stake in TE.

That said, it's still good news that it won't come out of the pompiers budget.