French-speaking Swiss firefighters deploy to help battle flames in Bordeaux

Around 30 firefighters from French-speaking Switzerland have been sent to Bordeaux as reinforcements Keystone-SDA

Thirty-four firefighters set off from Geneva on Saturday, heading for Bordeaux. They are to assist their French counterparts who are fighting the fires in the Gironde. Bern is also considering sending four helicopters.

It was the Geneva Fire and Rescue Service (GSIS) that offered its assistance to the French authorities on Friday. The authorities accepted the offer and an operational detachment was quickly assembled, said Nicolas Millot, spokesperson for the GSIS.

Contacts were made with the cantonal insurance organisations in Vaud and Neuchâtel (ECA VD and ECAP NE) to set up a detachment from French-speaking Switzerland. The team thus comprises 23 firefighters from the GSIS Geneva (including a paramedic and a mechanic), eight from Vaud and two from Neuchâtel, plus one firefighter from Haute-Savoie.

Eleven vehicles

The convoy set off at midday on Saturday with a total of eleven vehicles, including six fire engines and five light and support vehicles. It is due to arrive in Bordeaux on Saturday evening.

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The French-speaking detachment is to deploy its resources in the Gironde department, under the command of the GSIS. Once there, its mission will be to support efforts to tackle wildfires and/or relieve local forces of urban firefighting duties.

In its press release, the GSIS notes that it had set up a planning headquarters back in June in preparation for a possible international mutual aid operation.

Helicopters

As part of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, in which Switzerland participates, Paris has asked Bern to send four light helicopters, said French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez. The Federal Department of Defence and Civil Protection is currently assessing the availability of air assets, particularly in light of the widespread drought and the risk of forest fires in Switzerland, a spokesperson told Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA.

Until this assessment is complete and no decision has been taken, it is not possible to comment on which army helicopters are available for a potential deployment to France, he added, confirming that a request had been received from Paris late on Friday evening.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.