On site, an exhibition of vehicles which covered all the themes that can be found in the barracks, forest fire, structure fire, road rescue. Different demonstrations enhanced the day, such as the search for victims carried out by a dog handler accompanied by a drone providing aerial support, a nautical rescue maneuver in the bay of Cala Medea or a road rescue maneuver in the car park.
The public, and in particular the children, had access to the various materials on display, and were able to enjoy being able to touch, try, climb on the trucks and even, for the luckiest, in the basket of the large ladder. An unforgettable day for the little visitors, some of whom did not hesitate to put on their best firefighter disguise. “Finally, in this type of event, where the public is invited to get up close and personal with the profession, we see vocations emerging among certain children, but not only that. Quite regularly parents come back to us to become volunteer firefighters, because they were as fascinated as their children…this allows us to recruit people at the local level, which is very important for us, because, for example, if tomorrow there When a blow hits hard, we have to call for reinforcements. But if we have volunteers on site, it’s easier to quickly assemble a truck as reinforcement.” explains Captain Jean-François Susini.
A great team
The staff at the Pietrosella barracks is currently 15 professional firefighters and 53 volunteer firefighters. Last year they had to carry out an average of 1,300 interventions, thus positioning the Pietrosella barracks in fourth place in Southern Corsica.
Interventions which should logically increase since the barracks have recently been equipped with new vehicles “oWe can also intervene in road rescue, and now provide interventions for what we call common risks.
We have 7 people on duty per day, 24 hours a day, plus 4 in the summer in the forest fire truck. We are still an intermediate barracks, because we are in temporary premises, but eventually the barracks will be classified as an emergency center, with 9 people on guard per day”. explains Jean-François Susini
At the cutting edge of technology, there is also a drone team which can be used on all interventions. “When searching for a victim, for example, we can communicate through the drone, inform people that the firefighters will arrive. For bush fires, it is also very useful, because they are equipped with thermal cameras, infrared cameras, we can measure the exact surface area of the fire, detect hot spots that cannot be detected with the naked eye
We can use it on chemical hazards, on urban fires, without exposing our personnel. The images are transmitted live to the PC truck and this makes it possible to target the intervention. It’s a great step forward for us,” rejoices the captain.
Passionate about his profession, he hopes that this day will inspire many vocations on the South Shore, “It’s really a rich, varied profession, in which there is a lot of human contact. This is not a profession that we choose by chance, even for volunteers, it is not to be taken lightly, we are truly actors. To be frank, it’s not beautiful every day, it’s not always the image of the hero that we see on television, there are also more difficult sides, but it remains a very corporatist profession. family, with a multitude of different professions. It’s a profession that must adapt to evolution, there is no routine, that’s what’s interesting”. he whispers.
Let us hope that this first “Pietrosella Firefighters’ Day” will have sparked many vocations among visitors of all ages.
