While we were celebrating the new year, the Rouen firefighters were on the job. However, the night was rather calm, apart from a few fires. Immersion in the largest barracks in Rouen.
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The siren sounds in the Gambetta barracks in Rouen, the largest in the sector. 11,000 interventions are carried out each year in the urban area, or around thirty per day and most of the time to help people.
Around twenty firefighters are on duty during this New Year's Eve, and like every year we expect a few car and trash fires.
The night will be long, and it begins with a first vehicle fire in the town. The general atmosphere is both serious and festive.
Six firefighters were called for an intervention in Sotteville-les-Rouen. A vehicle was set on fire. A pitiful peculiarity of the transition to the new year. “The main risk is the risk of vehicle fire spreading to other vehicles, or to facades with residents in the homes. On this evening of December 31, we fear the grouping of young people who wish to do battle with the police and firefighters” explains Lieutenant Guillaume Raymond, guard group leader.
In a few minutes the firefighters put out the impressive flames which completely covered the burned car. The spread of fire to homes is avoided.
Meanwhile at the Gambetta barracks, the firefighters are also following the New Year festivities on their screens, but remain on alert with the prospect of leaving at any minute.
The alert sounds again. This time it was a car fire in the Hauts district of Rouen. The firefighters are here under good police escort. We must act quickly to prevent tempers from getting heated.
“The specificity of this type of intervention is the location of the neighborhood. A working-class neighborhood which is known for regular urban violence” comments Lieutenant Raymond.
On the way back to the barracks, one crew meets another at the corner of a street. A great opportunity to wish each other a Happy New Year 2025, with a few warm hugs!
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