“The participants are the twenty-one professional firefighters hired by the Picardy Wallonia emergency zone on November 1st.explains Lieutenant Maxime Dessauvages, attached to the ZSWAPI training department. They end their five weeks of training with this final exercise which aims to evaluate their technique but also the cohesion of the group.“
A scenario was developed for the occasion: “while the carillonneur is busy playing at the top of the belfry, a fire breaks out. The alarm goes off, but when the man tries to go down, he is trapped by the smoke and falls unconscious. So we sent two teams: one to put out the fire and another to save the carillonneur.”
A refresher
Three exercises – at least – of this type were scheduled during the morning: “iThey started this morning with an ascent of the belfry from the inside, just to get into shape and discover the place. They are basic firefighters, but everyone must be able to show the (257) steps of the belfry and bring water. There is no string technique“, continues Lieutenant Dessauvages. Things become more complex for the second exercise, since a firefighter who falls ill during an intervention must this time be lowered on a stretcher.
Most of the new professional firefighters – who include two young women in their ranks – were almost all already volunteer firefighters in the Picardy Wallonia emergency zone, while a few come from outside. Recruitment was done in the form of a competition. The objective of the exercise was a refresher course, “just to see if everyone speaks the same language and uses the same technique.”
The Tournai belfry was not chosen by chance. It is a strong symbol in the history of our region.
On the other hand, the fact that the exercise took place the day after the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, which allowed the media to discuss the new procedures put in place, on the French side, to prevent and protect the buildings from fire. important heritage monuments, is a coincidence.
