VIDEO – COVID-19: a photographer reveals the unprecedented daily life of firefighters during the first confinement

A total immersion in a historical period

Arnaud Beinat, official photographer for the Moselle firefighters, followed these everyday heroes from the start to the end of confinement. Its objective: to pay tribute to those who fought against an invisible and unknown enemy. “Through this report, I wanted to pay tribute to all the firefighters of Moselle who fought day by day against this void of which we knew nothing at the start.“, explains Arnaud Beinat.

The transformation of interventions

With the arrival of the pandemic, the nature of firefighters’ work has changed dramatically. Michael Schmitt, deputy director in charge of human resources at SDIS 57, testifies: “More than three quarters of our operations focused on personal assistance linked to Covid-19.d”. This unprecedented situation presented new challenges, particularly in terms of risks incurred by the firefighters themselves.

COVID-19: a photographer reveals the unprecedented daily life of firefighters during the first confinement

Images that speak more than words

Among the 160 photos selected by Arnaud Beinat, some capture particularly moving moments, such as that of a caregiver shaking the hand of a nursing home resident who died of Covid. These images bear witness to the brutal reality that firefighters faced.

Solidarity at the heart of the crisis

Despite the difficulties, the firefighters received many signs of support from the population. The photographer remembers: “There were also people who made donations to us, who arrived here with boxes of chocolate“These gestures of solidarity were crucial in maintaining the morale of the troops.

The book “57 days with the Moselle firefighters” is available from the departmental union of Moselle firefighters. It constitutes a precious testimony to a period which marked history and transformed the daily lives of these fire heroes.