An intervention in Chirac
Credit : Hélène Gosselin Totem
Lozère has between 800 and 850 firefighters, including the entire operational corps is made up of volunteers. Many rescue centers are actively looking for new recruits. This is particularly the case with the Chirac firefighters who displayed a banner crossing the village and organized public meetings. The center currently has 21 volunteers, soon more than 19 following two departures. Benjamin Boyer is the head of the center.
“The workforce itself is correct, the problem is availability. Today, at night we are on call so there are inevitably people. The problem is finding volunteers available during the week, on working days. I am often asked what number to reach, that is not the goal. The goal is that we can have a sufficient turnover so that during the week we manage to fill all the machines because there are days when we leave incomplete and this implies involving other centers. A few years ago, we had the same number of people for 80 interventions per year, today we are at 250. We lack doctors, we lack a bit of everything and suddenly you are on the 18th. There will always be someone on the other end of the line and always firefighters to come and help you.
To apply, you don't need to be Superman:
“Today, to be a firefighter, we recruit from 16 to 55 years old. At the moment, we are rather looking for people who are somewhat in active life, who have their life in Chirac, Monastier or Saint-Bonnet-de-Chirac and who simply would have a little time, even times half a day… If the vehicle manages to leave, it's fantastic! Women, men, whatever. There are sports tests which remain at a low level, we don't ask for high-level athletesso once we have validated that, we have medical examinations, then we can begin the training course.”
And in Lozère, you can complete the complete training to intervene in personal rescue, on urban fires and forest fires or only do personal rescue. A public meeting took place this Tuesday, December 3 yesterday at Monastier, the next one is scheduled for Friday, December 13 at the Salle du Temps Libre in Chirac.
