First in France: firefighters just for the Penly nuclear power plant

Friday June 7, 2024there were smiles on almost every face within the confines of the Penly nuclear power plant near Dieppe (Seine-Maritime).

The elected officials of the territory, but also the representatives of the fire brigade and the director of the plant, François Valmagecame to inaugurate the first operational guard posted in France installed on a nuclear site.

The result of long negotiation work between elected officials, EDF and firefighters, the Penly “GOP” will serve as an example for all EDF nuclear sites.

Head of series for the entire nuclear fleet

« Au 1^is September, this GOP will be fully operational and will serve as a seed for the entire nuclear fleet,” underlines François Valmage. The GOP must enable better responsiveness and greater efficiency of emergency teams in the event of a disaster at the nuclear power plant.

Until then, in the event of a fire in Penly, firefighters intervened from Dieppe, the nearest fire and rescue center.

From now on, there will be six of them stationed six days a week at the nuclear power plant.

Each Dieppe fire soldier will carry out a maximum of two 12-hour shifts per month on the GOP, which will ensure real rotation.

Shifts start at 7 a.m.

“The guards start at 7 a.m. in Dieppe, then the firefighters have half an hour to arrive on site,” explains Stéphane Gouezec, departmental director of the departmental fire and rescue service, Sdis. The firefighters will leave the power station at 6:30 p.m. to end their day in Dieppe at 7 p.m. They will be on duty from Monday to Saturday and there will be no one on the GOP on Sundays and public holidays.

Less interest on Sunday

A fact which angered the CGT union at the Penly plant a few months ago.

The unionists believe that on Sundays too, there is a need for help at the power station.

Criticisms to which François Valmage and Stéphane Gouezec responded together during the visit to the GOP infrastructures: “There is less interest on Sundays. There are fewer professional exchanges on the site, there is less traffic on the main road when necessary as well. »

Beneficial for the entire Dieppe region

This special unit installed on the nuclear site was called for at the time by the president of Sdis 76, André Gautier. The latter had campaigned for a GOP rather than for a barracks dedicated to Penly when the question of developing the emergency supply arose in the context of the future Penly EPR project. The idea was that a GOP would benefit the entire territory and not just the nuclear power plant.

“This posted operational guard will make it possible to increase the workforce of the Dieppe fire and rescue center, which will go from 63 to 91 firefighters,” assures the president of Sdis 76. “The GOP is a choice triple win, for EDF, for Sdis and for the territory”, agrees François Valmage.

A weapon of mass seduction among firefighters

The departmental director of Sdis, Stéphane Gouezec, ensures that it is particularly attractive to firefighters: “We are starting to have a lot of requests from firefighters who want to come to Dieppe to work on the Penly power station. »

There, the firefighters will also work in close collaboration with EDF agents.

“Agents will not lose missions with the implementation of the GOP. The people on watch will in particular continue their work of resolving doubts, for example. There will be better responsiveness, but no change in prerogative,” concludes François Valmage.

A declaration illustrated by the fire defense exercise organized at the end of the inauguration ceremony.

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