Fire in Annecy: “access to the old town is complicated, we know that, so we are increasing our searches”

Five days after the fire in the old town of Annecy, life is gradually returning. The toll is heavy: one dead and more than 70 victims. The rubble removal operations are not quite finished. Now is the time for insurance, expertise, and advice too, so that this type of drama does not happen again. Firefighter interventions are particularly delicate in old centers.

“The old town is complicated terrain”

This is what Colonel Philippe Briols, deputy director of the SDIS of Haute-Savoie, confirmed on France Bleu Pays de Savoie: “the old town is complicated terrain in which to act because the paths are complicated. The layout of the premises is extremely complicated. The constructive provisions of the time are not quite those of today. So that means wooden stairs, narrow paths, apartments nested one on top of the other. So complicated for the firefighters who intervene to access the disasters”.

Given the complexity of interventions in old centers, firefighters are increasing the number of exercises and reconnaissance: “We first prepare with sector reconnaissance, a study of the locations, and the implementation of plans for listed establishments. That is to say that we have listed the sectors by block. In each block, we know the access points, the water points, we know where we have to go through to access this or that apartment. We have already imagined where we would position our emergency equipment, fire vans and aerial ladders in particular. And this is the first step of prevention”, explains Colonel Philippe Briols.

Tips for preparing

There is also “regularly, sector visits by local firefighters. And exercises too. This year, for example, three exercises took place in the old center of Annecy to be able to train and work together with the other services, the town hall, the police to be able to imagine the disaster, deal with it and see what should be done, a bit like what was done and implemented concretely last week.”

Colonel Briols gave us advice on how to be as prepared as possible: “You must of course be equipped with autonomous smoke detectors, remove anything that risks burning and spreading the disaster. And above all, free access, do not store anything in the corridors, do not store anything in the common areas. Finally, we often forget it, but it is very important in the event of a fire to close the doors securely.“.