Since the drought of 2022, the specter of summer fires resurfaces every year. These repeated fires have raised awareness of the need to better defend against fires. Illustration in the Tarn, where more than 400 vegetation fires during the 2023 summer season,
In France, the drought of 2022 and its numerous fires have left their mark. To better defend themselves against forest fires, firefighters are adapting in the Tarn department.
The summer season is one of all dangers for firefighters. The years 2022 and 2023, marked by episodes of drought, saw many hectares of forest disappear.
To help them fight against the risk of fire, and as in 2023, Météo France is relaunching, since Monday June 10, forest weather forecasts available from 5 p.m. A daily reminder of risks also accessible to the general public and intended to raise awareness.
In 2023, there were more than 400 vegetation fires in the Tarn during the summer season. This is double from previous years. Adaptation therefore became essential for the departmental fire and rescue service.
In Tarn, a brigade of forest fire experts was formed this year.
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These men, dressed in yellow, are forest fire experts, capable of setting fire to vegetation and directing it so as not to fuel possible fires. 12 Tarn firefighters were trained in these tactical fires, prescribed burning or counter-fires.
“Vegetation is changing with an increasingly significant impact of global warming”explains David Olivares, Tarn firefighter. “We will soon find Mediterranean vegetation here. So we have to prepare today.”
This year, the Tarn firefighters will be equipped with high-performance, more efficient and water-saving equipment.
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Equipped with drones, 2 forest surveillance patrols appear. They will track down the slightest suspicious trace of smoke to alert the firefighters as quickly as possible. Another novelty, 8 tank trucks with a capacity of 4000 liters each, with a particularity: high pressure.
A real revolution in the way we intervene to put out fires: “By diffusing a jet which is much more aerated, it allows us to consume less water”, says Philippe Cnocquart, lieutenant-colonel at SDIS 81. “We can get to the scene faster, the pipes are lighter and the trucks last longer in the field.”
In Tarn, the investment is estimated at 2 million euros for the State and 5 million for the department. A political choice assumed by Christophe Ramond, the president of the Department: “Today we must be vigilant and anticipate the right choices in terms of investment and modernizing our SDIS means protecting our populations.”
It now remains for the fire services to recruit volunteer firefighters during the day to be fully ready to face the summer of 2024.
