FRANCE INFO. To mark the presidential election, the National Federation of French Firefighters (FNSPF) has put forward 32 proposals for “concrete measures” to all candidates. It is calling for the recruitment of additional volunteers to reach the target of 200,000 within five years – around 7,000 more than in 2015. It also condemns the 26 per cent drop in government investment over the past five years. The fire service is also calling for a moratorium on the closure of fire stations.
Among the proposals is the idea of merging all existing emergency numbers into a single number. "We want to make 112 'THE' emergency number, not just one of many", explained Patrick Hertgen, vice-president of the National Federation of French Firefighters (FNSPF), on franceinfo on Wednesday 1 March. "We have a whole host of emergency numbers in France – it’s impossible to make sense of them". In his view, we need to "to ensure that 112 is the emergency number for all public emergency services, with a call centre to better coordinate services and responses".
franceinfo: What is the mood within your organisation at the moment?
Patrick Hertgen: We are a determined organisation, and I think we need to do this for the French people. Because, for the past five years, we’ve had fewer firefighters in France, fewer fire stations and fewer emergency response centres.
We have a problem with resources and the perception of risks. We’re not asking for more money. That’s not the issue. 80 per cent of our firefighters are volunteers. There are just under 250,000 of us in France. We’ve now fallen below the 7,000-fire-station mark.
Should the ratio between volunteer and professional firefighters be reversed?
No, on the contrary, we must try to maintain this balance: 20 per cent professionals and 80 per cent volunteers. It is a model in which, on the one hand, you have committed members of the public who, alongside their day jobs, get involved, learn the ropes and provide assistance. We cannot build a system based solely on professional firefighters.
With the terrorist attacks In particular, have you been taking on more and more assignments? How are you coping with that?
Then there are the day-to-day emergency call-outs. There are around 4.5 million call-outs every year, and 3.5 million people are helped. Then there are exceptional events: weather-related risks, terrorist attacks. And in such cases, we realise that it’s vital the system works properly. It’s not just a question of having more staff; we also need to be consistent. We’ve questioned the candidates about the emergency number, 112. We want to make 112 ‘THE’ emergency number, not just one number amongst many. We have a jumble of emergency numbers in France; it’s confusing. We need to ensure that 112 is the emergency number for all public emergency services, with a shared call centre to better coordinate services and responses.