The atmosphere was solemn, Wednesday December 4 evening, at the Dreux rescue center. The men and women of the Sdis (Departmental Fire and Rescue Service) of Eure-et-Loir celebrated Sainte-Barbe, the patroness of firefighters.
“The 79 emergency centers in the department are organizing ceremonies for Sainte-Barbe,” notes Christophe Le Dorven, president of the Departmental Council and the board of directors of Sdis. “For three years, we have been organizing a departmental ceremony to bring together the big Sdis family.”
1,600 flood interventions
This year, the 291 professional firefighters and 232 volunteers intervened nearly 25,000 times. “That is an increase of 5% compared to last year,” indicates Colonel Sébastien Gras, director of Sdis 28. “This increase is explained by the floods in October in Eure-et-Loir. They alone required 1,600 interventions.”
The colonel hopes to perpetuate the place of volunteers in the fire brigade and wishes to modernize the resources, particularly the fleet of intervention equipment. “I thank the communities who, despite budgetary constraints, continue to support us.”
“For three years, we have been organizing a departmental ceremony to bring together the family of the Eure-et-Loir fire and rescue service.”
The 65 professional firefighters of Dreux and the 60 volunteers carried out 5,000 interventions, “a stable figure”, according to Didier Faymendy, the head of the Dreux center, who remains marked by the fire which occurred on December 23, 2023, avenue Kennedy in Dreux which caused several injuries, including an infant.
Moreover, the firefighters who intervened on this fire, like their colleagues who fought a house fire on Boulevard Chasles, in Chartres, and their comrades who saved a person who had fallen into the water in Nogent-le-Roi, were particularly distinguished Wednesday evening.
