Firefighters clothing

The firefighter intervenes on various claims and accidents. In all cases, the handling of fire equipment is obviously required, as well as first aid actions, on site or in an ambulance.

The missions of firefighters, difficult and painful, present significant risks. The frequency and nature of their interventions, the action and prevention strategies oblige them to use different means depending on the areas to be protected: sea, mountain, industrial sites with high chemical or nuclear risk, large urban centers, small towns, etc.

In Paris and in the neighboring departments (Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis) as well as in Marseille, firefighters are soldiers. In the rest of the territory, these are civilian firefighters who depend on local communities and report to the Ministry of the Interior.

Military firefighters work either for the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP, depending on the Army), or for the Marseille Firefighters Battalion (BMPM, depending on the Navy). They can be assigned to civil security training and intervention units and to the civil security air force group.

Among civilian firefighters, we distinguish professionals and volunteers, by far the most numerous. The professionals are local officials, while the volunteers fulfill their mission while exercising their own profession in parallel.

Whether professional or military, firefighters are required to provide 24 or 48 hour service in a row to be able to intervene at any time. This permanence is compensated by a rest system.

The lifestyle of professional firefighters and that of the military are similar (barracks, hierarchy, ranks, etc.). Volunteer firefighters, for their part, must organize their lives so that they can be released immediately in the event of an alert. They participate in training and on guard tours.