They had not yet returned when others had already taken over. The nine Riviera firefighters dispatched to Mayotte landed in Nice on Sunday after a grueling fortnight on the island devastated by Chido. Eight comrades from SDIS 06 succeeded them. They will not be too much to help the Mahorais to get back on their feet.
“I was used to cyclones. But here, the violence was still significant! confides Captain Vincent Manuel, head of the Alpes-Maritimes detachment. We crossed lunar landscapes. The trees were uprooted at the base. No more leaves on the branches. Containers moved several meters. We found boats inland, in mangroves…”
It is in this apocalyptic setting that Vincent Manuel, 44, whipped with eight comrades. Among them, Lieutenant Thierry Filhol, 54, head of operational unit. And nurse Laurent Bouchama, 39 years old, volunteer firefighter. This Tuesday in Nice, all three tell us about their trip to another France, another world.
Preparing for back to school and the future
Their main mission? “Securing schools, summarizes Thierry Filhol. This is the government priority but also the local one. The mayors want the students to come back to prevent them from wandering. Especially since often, it is at school that they have their only meal of the day…”
In complete autonomy, the Riviera firefighters have established their base camp in a high school, in Dzoumogné, in the north of Mayotte. As part of a contingent of 63 firefighters from the southern zone, they deployed 1,000m2 of tarpaulins on fourteen schools.
They also cut down trees, cleared “so that students can return without risking injury”. Less than a month after the disaster of December 14, they can therefore plan to return to school next Monday. And a future on the island.
The force of habit
Before Christmas, SDIS 06 had dispatched eight USAR specialists (rescue, support and search units). All used to climate crises. Before Mayotte, Lieutenant Filhol had again intervened in Martinique and Reunion. “We experienced the storm Alex, the attacks… On an emotional level, we are starting to be broken.”
For Laurent, the group's nurse, it was the first mission of this type. “But I lived in Africa, I had experience of these kinds of situations.”
Everyone had to adapt. Dealing with tropical rains, temperatures peaking at 40 degrees, ambient humidity which forces people to drink “up to six liters of water per day”. Start construction sites at 6 a.m., resolve to return early so as not to end up in the red.
Healing bodies and souls
Our firefighters repaired priority equipment. They cared for bodies and souls, too. They traveled through the bangas (Mahorese huts) according to needs and emergencies.
“There were a lot of wounds on our hands and feet, which became infected and required antibiotics,” reports Laurent. “We were often accompanied by locals to make us understand. Seeing that we were there for them, I think that was did them good too…”
We had to gain trust, including among illegal immigrants. Vincent Manuel was able to count on his Mauritian origins and on Commander Saïd, his classmate Filt 73 who became group leader in Mayotte. He participated in the management of air freight from Reunion. Then he joined the command post of operations, carried out over a radius of twenty kilometers.
Back in mainland France, he says he is “proud” of his team and the work accomplished. Bluffed by the “desire to do well” of these men whose enthusiasm he had to curb. Deeply marked by the resilience of the Mahorais, too. And by their smile. “They lost everything. They buried their dead, rolled up their sleeves and got back to work. For me, it's a real life lesson.”
