Deadly fire, rescue at sea, road accident and arrival of the flame, look back at the year 2024 among the firefighters

At the end of 2024, it is the time to take stock. The Marseille firefighters recorded a little more than 122,000 interventions in 2024. For France 3 Provence-Alpes, they returned to some which particularly marked them, even if the preparation and the system of the Olympic Games remain as the point organ of these past 12 months.

In the streets of Marseille or on the water, they watch over the city’s population and tourists, they are the Marseille firefighters. For France 3 Provence-Alpes, Lieutenant Commander Fabien, head of the operations division at the BMPM, reviewed the most notable operations of the year on the 122 000 that they carried out. A figure similar to the previous two years.

Those which mobilized the most firefighters

>>One dead child and four in absolute emergency: what we know about the apartment fire in Marseille

A 4-year-old boy died in an apartment fire that occurred on the night of Tuesday January 30, 2024 in the city of Parc Kalliste, in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille. In total, four children were in absolute emergency, two three-year-olds, one seven-year-old and one fourteen-year-old. Seven people were treated in relative emergency by the firefighters. The fire broke out around 4:40 a.m. on the second floor of a seven-story building in the city of Parc Kalliste. Firefighters responded seven minutes after the fire was reported. This city of 15^e The district is known for being a degraded and partially squatted city. According to a police source, the fire started from a squatted apartment. Thirty-seven BMPM engines and 106 firefighters were mobilized.

“The virulence of the fire was very significant, the firefighters showed a lot of bravery, because the physical commitment was significant,” specifies Lieutenant Commander Fabien, head of the operations division at the BMPM.

>>A fire destroys a business near rue d’Aubagne in Marseille

Another operation also mobilized a major effort, the fire in a grocery store in the Noailles district on October 19, 2024. Around 3 p.m. that day, a fire broke out in a business in the center of city ​​of Marseille injuring the hand of the manager of this store.

Sixty-five marine firefighters were sent to put out this fire and more than a hundred marine firefighters were mobilized.” a very virulent fire, with rapid spread which fortunately caused no serious injuries”, reminds Lieutenant Commander Fabien. He adds that “Interventions in highly urbanized areas with a population density make interventions more complicated. Fires in closed environments are very difficult due to the sharp rise in temperature, even if no firefighter has been injured, some may feel pain. hot flashes upon close contact with flames.

The one that ends well

On July 1, firefighters were called for an intervention at sea, this happened at the end of the day, night had fallen, and two men made a distress call for an engine failure on their boat on the side of the sea wall. north of the port. When help arrives, “the two men in their thirties are in the water, because their boat has sunk and despite the fact that it is summer, they are hypothermic. Fortunately, we arrived soon enough. quickly, because later, they could have lost their lives.”, specifies the head of operations of the Marseille firefighters. This intervention took place on a windy day when the sea was quite rough. The firefighters had rushed to the scene.two boats, with eight people on board and other firefighters were deployed on the dike for land reconnaissance. In total, around twenty firefighters were on site that evening. specifies Lieutenant Commander Fabien.

The one that required the most courage

>>Death of a forty-year-old, drowned at the wheel of his car which fell into the port of Marseille

The story doesn’t end well for the victim, but it highlights the dedication of the marine firefighters. On October 3, at the autonomous port of Marseille, a dockworker fell into the water with his vehicle more than 10 meters deep. “The accident took place a few meters from the fire station located on the port. One of the firefighters present who saw the scene rushed into the water to help the victim who was trapped in the passenger compartment of his vehicle“, details Lieutenant Commander Fabien, head of the operations division at the BMPM. The firefighter who had not anticipated this dive was not in a diver’s outfit, but did not hesitate to jump into the water. After a few minutes, he ended up opening the vehicle and removing the victim’s lifeless body, which unfortunately could not be revived. “The courageous firefighter was helped by his colleagues to get out of the water, because while providing assistance, he himself was a victim of early drowning and had to be hospitalized. An act of courage praised by his colleagues. He put his life on the line to save someone else’s.” underlines the head of operations.

The one that was the most shocking

>>VIDEO. Two dead in car fire after accident in Marseille

Three cars caught fire on a side alley of Avenue du Prado in Marseille (8ᵉ) on Thursday May 16, 2024. Two people died,after a traffic accident which occurred at 564 Avenue du Prado. A car involved caught fire. “When the first engine arrived, the firefighters could only see the three vehicles on fire and the two victims near the vehicle”explains the commander of rescue operations. “These people apparently died because of the fire.” The driver of a fourth unburned vehicle was treated. On the video surveillance images that France 3 Provence-Alpes was able to consult, we see very clearly the first vehicle, arriving slowly, passing a parking space, putting on its indicator and beginning the maneuver to park, before being hit at very lively pace with a large engine capacity. The SUV type vehicle, dark in color, in its speed, hit the left side of the small city car, a twingo, in the process of making its niche, took it in its mad rush for several meters and embedded in another vehicle already parked further away. The fire started at that moment.

“It’s extremely rare to not be able to get people out, it was terrible, in the city where we don’t normally drive very fast. The firefighters were very shocked, as were the witnesses,” explains Lieutenant Commander Fabien, while specifying that “il There is a psychological service at the battalion, of the National Navy, whose primary mission is to debrief teams who are confronted with shocking events. A real need and real added value for men“.

The one that remains as the most beautiful memory

But the event that remains the most significant for the entire battalion is the Olympic Games, “Due to the preparation that this required and due to the size of the system, the number of people mobilized, particularly for the arrival of the flame on May 8, 2024”. Two moments of particular pride, when one of them was selected to be the guardian of the flame aboard the Belém for the crossing from Greece until its arrival in Marseille.” everything went well, fortunately, but it was a long and great preparation”, for these 600 marine firefighters mobilized against the 300 usually deployed at this time of the year.

Terrorist risk, crowd movement, fire on land or on board a boat: for months, the Marseille firefighters battalion (BMPM) prepared for all scenarios to optimal security. At sea, the parade brought together more than 1000 boats around Belém, one of them was the fireboat of the sailors closest to the flame.