In this small town in Calvados, volunteer firefighters impatiently await their station

THE firefighters are waiting for him with great impatience in Pont-d'Ouilly (Calvados). This is, of course, the new barracks built in the same place, in the heart of the town. “We’ve been waiting for it for many years,” breathes Emmanuel Couillard, head of the center, who arrived in the Ouillypontaine city in 2016.

Several projects mentioned

“Several projects were discussed and one stood out. That is to say, remaining in the heart of the town and close to the inhabitants, having a simple and functional barracks.”

The work started in September and should be completed in July. “The idea was to bring this barracks up to standard. You should know that we have our administrative part in this residential house. We did some work there, a classroom, an office and we will try to have rooms there. The purpose of the barracks is to have a shed where we can store our vehicles, men's and women's changing rooms, a gym.”

A total surface area of ​​400 m2. For a total cost of 750,000 euros covered by Sdis.

A welcoming place

Captain Couillard, a volunteer firefighter for 30 years, wants to make it a welcoming place. There are 27 volunteer firefighters. “It’s a constant number. We would like to have a workforce of 30 people.”

Recruitment for volunteer firefighters occurs every 3 months. There are 4 training modules.

Our goal is to retain them. You also have to get it out of your head that you have to be a great athlete. This is the image we have. There are still tests to take.

As for the young firefighters, they are spread across 3 emergency centers in Suisse Normande: Pont-d'Ouilly, Clécy and Thury-Harcourt. There are 18 of them.

Emmanuel Couillard mentions a JSP from Pont-d'Ouilly (where he remains a volunteer) who joined at the age of 12 and who has just passed his professional exam at 19. He joins the Ifs barracks.

“For the JSP, we are going to launch a recruitment policy in September. It will be in Suisse Normande but especially located in Clécy and Pont-d'Ouilly. This is where the needs are greatest. We hope to attract young people aged 12 to 14 for training that lasts 4 years,” observes Captain Emmanuel Couillard who has two deputies, chief warrant officers Cédric Lecerf and Geoffrey Marais.

“VAR is very recent”

While waiting for the summer deadline, the vehicles are at the city's technical services where the best welcome has been given to the firefighters.

At the material level, precisely, the Ouillypontain rescue center has a CCR (rural tanker truck), a VSAV (rescue and assistance vehicle for victims), a VTU (all-purpose vehicle), a VAR (respiratory assistance vehicle ) as well as a VLU (light utility vehicle).

“VAR is very recent for us. It is a vehicle that allows us to go further on major interventions. It's really a plus for us. It is a vehicle which is used to re-inflate the air bottles that we use for fires,” continues Emmanuel Couillard who, like his team, is closely following the progress of the work. “The project is on schedule,” he concludes.

A 9% increase in interventions in 2024

During the year 2024, the Pont-d'Ouilly fire brigade carried out 233 interventions, 62% of which were for personal assistance. For accidents on public roads, this represents 15%. For fire outbreaks, the rate is also 15%. The rest (8%) concerns miscellaneous operations. Overall, there is a 9% increase in interventions compared to 2023. Cédric Lecerf, chief warrant officer and deputy to Emmanuel Couillard, the head of the center, also gives us some figures on the average mobilization time of a firefighter. “For a firefighter who has 4,500 hours of availability during a year (13 hours per day), this represents 44 interventions or 19% of annual departures.”

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