The Loiret firefighters celebrated their patron saint, Sainte-Barbe, on Saturday December 7, at the Pithiviers rescue center.
The opportunity for the general controller Christophe Fuchs, departmental director of the departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis) of Loiret, to take stock of the past year.
140,000 emergency calls
An Olympic year, during which “the Loiret firefighters also took on challenges and achieved their objectives”. They were mobilized for the passage of the Tour de France in the department, the crossing of the flame or even the securing of the Paralympic Games in Châteauroux.
Since January, no less than 40,000 interventions have been recorded. “This annual volume of activity will probably be similar to last year, around 41,000,” specifies general controller Christophe Fuchs.
Nearly 140,000 emergency calls were received at the 18/112 center, with an average response time of around 13 seconds.
Forest fires: new for 2025
Every summer, firefighters are on the front line during major forest and vegetation fires. A system for detecting, locating and monitoring fires in the Sologne forest massif will be deployed in 2025, with the departments of Cher and Loir-et-Cher.
-“This system aims to reduce the alert times of firefighters,” explains Marc Gaudet, president of the board of directors of Sdis 45 and the departmental council. “Our community will also install 25 water tanks in the forests of Loiret, between 2025 and 2026. Fourteen municipalities will be affected by this Loirétain project in 2025.”
New logo
The new logo of the Loiret firefighters, which was until then inspired by that of the department, was unveiled during Sainte-Barbe. Modern, in bright colors, while maintaining a link with the department thanks to the ear of Loirétain wheat, this logo “translates the movement, reactivity and ability to adapt which characterize the women and men of Sdis 45”.
Workforce
Between 2022 and 2024, forty-three professional firefighters were recruited, bringing the total number of professional firefighters to 464. The Loiret counts 1.984 volunteer firefighters, 218 young firefighters and 110 administrative agents.
Filly, an 11-year-old girl, was honored during the Sainte-Barbe ceremony, as was chief warrant officer Yannick Gauthier, firefighter at the Pithiviers center. On June 12, 2024, a fire broke out at the family home in Malesherbois. Filly was alone with her little brothers aged 5 years and 7 months. She contacted emergency services and faced with the emergency, the chief warrant officer remained on the line with her and told her what action to take. Filly managed to extract her little brothers from the smoky house.
