New boss for the Cantal firefighters

Originally from Aveyron and aged 51, the Colonel Yannick Tardieu is therefore the new departmental director of Sdis.

The official takeover took place this Saturday, May 4, 2024, avenue de Conthe in Aurillac. A new director all smiles at the idea of ​​taking this departmental direction. “I started as a volunteer firefighter in 1993 and then took my lieutenant’s exam.”

Fairly linear career

A fairly linear career followed. In 1995, he took over the management of Loiret as corps commander, before joining theAllier in the world of prevention. Then head to Haute-Marnethen join the Golden Coast (his last position) as deputy departmental director.

“My successor was retiring, so I applied and it is with great desire that I take up my position today.”

Discovery of men

For the moment, the time is to discover the territory and the people who work on a daily basis. “I plan to visit each center (36 in total) in Cantal to introduce myself and get to know the Cantal firefighters. But also listen to them. For me, this is very important: that each person feels listened to. Everyone is important for Sdis to function properly.”

Without forgetting the meeting with officials: prefect, mayors, parliamentarians, colleagues from the legal world, the police or the gendarmerie…

Creating vocations

Alongside the hundred professionals, there are around 800 volunteer firefighters. And as in many places in the territory, we have to “fight” every day to create vocations and ensure that young people, or not so young people, swell the ranks of volunteers.

But the colonel noted that efforts have been made in this direction for many years. Particularly on training: “if, for example, a person does not want to be trained for fires, but for personal rescue, this is possible. And she will only go out to help anyone. Differentiated training can be carried out. For me, this is essential: volunteers must be able to reconcile their personal life and life for others. And if a few months or years later, this person wants to train to fight fire, they will be able to do so.”

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