Whether through malice, inattention or a simple lack of civility, a simple spark can cause monumental, even irreparable, damage. In 9 out of 10 cases, fires are of human origin and require colossal resources, both human and material, to avoid a disaster or tragedy.
Read also: The Department confirms its commitment to the SDIS
This is why all the competent authorities in this crisis situation met this Monday in the forest of L’Étang-Salé to present this season’s system for fighting fires in natural areas. Around the prefect Jérôme Filippini and the president of the Department Cyrille Melchior, we find the teams of the SDIS, the National Police, the gendarmerie, Météo France, the National Park and the ONF.
“There would be no forest fires if there was no bad behavior, either maliciousness or simply negligence. Throw away a cigarette butt, light a fire where you shouldn’t, have a barbecue outside the barbecue areas… The island is set up to do lots of things, but on condition that you do it where it is authorized. It’s not just that they (the firefighters) are mobilizing, each Reunionese must remember that they have the superpower to protect their forests and natural spaces”recalls Jérôme Filippini.
“The Department has increased the SDIS budget by 20% over the last two years. We have provided the means so that SDIS professionals can intervene as quickly as possible”underlines Cyrille Melchior. Investments which have enabled the upcoming acquisition of 7 fire trucks worth 600,000 euros and other “lesser” ones worth 300,000 euros. “But despite all this, it is up to everyone to be careful to avoid all risks of fire”he continues.
Material resources and innovations
Today, the forest fire system, which extends from September 15 to December 15, has 12 forest fire tankers and around fifty firefighters mobilized every day, ready to intervene.
“This year we have this new Super forest fire tanker, which arrived a few weeks ago. This is the first in a series since there will be seven in total. Great, because it is substantial in terms of hydraulic volume. There are 12,000 liters of water and what we call foaming wetting agents, a product to make it easier to extinguish the edges and attack the fire differently.specifies Lieutenant-Colonel Elvis Chamand.
A new truck which is a technological gem whose cannon can project 2,000 liters per minute, but which is also capable of “make water points where there are none. He has a mobile reserve that he can deploy and empty his 11,500 liters of water so that the tankers in contact with the fire can come and get water. So, where there are no hill reservoirs, it is capable of creating a water point”he adds.
The other new capability of the SDIS this year is the ability to create counterfires. “Tactical fire has been used for a while, except that in Reunion, we did not yet have this discipline. We started doing tests in 2017 in the savannah zone. Since then, we have developed this section with people who have been trained. Today we have a prescribed burning and tactical burning team, operational employment in the event of a fire, which will set fires to stop a fire. We are going to remove an area of fuel from the fire which will arrive on an area already burned and will therefore stop”explains the lieutenant-colonel.
Finally, SDIS 974 is also at the origin of a new technique using blowers used against flames. An innovative method which has been emulated and which is now used in France, particularly in Gard during the last fires of the summer.
