In France, the fire and rescue services (SIS) are funded by local authorities and public inter-municipal cooperation bodies (EPCI) – cities, urban areas, communities of municipalities – but also by the departments. They are subject to dual authority: on the one hand, that of the mayor or the prefect for their operational tasks; and on the other, that of the chair of their board of directors for their administrative and financial management.
All of these contributions constitute compulsory expenditure, the allocation of which is determined by the board of directors in accordance with criteria laid down by the legislature. Municipal contributions are based on population, per capita tax revenue, and the proportion of the municipality’s contribution to the total contributions from municipalities and EPCIs.
From single to triple
According to the latest official figures released by the Ministry of the Interior, the per capita cost of a SIS ranges from 52 to 151 euros, depending on the department, excluding military units, notably the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) and the Marseille Marine Fire Brigade (BMPM).
Among the most expensive SISs are South Corsica (2A) and Upper Corsica (2B), closely followed by the fire services in Bouches-du-Rhône (13) and Gironde (33). On average, a Category A SDIS costs €84 per inhabitant, compared with €76 for Category B and €79 for Category C. As a guide, the editorial team at Secours Info has compiled a ranking of services from the cheapest to the most expensive for their inhabitants in 2017. We have included the average for each category and the average for SDIS services in general, so that you can see where your local SDIS stands, based on its category.
The rankings
| SDIS | 70 | 52 € |
| SDIS | 85 | 55 € |
| SDIS | 29 | 58 € |
| SDIS | 10 | 58 € |
| SDIS | 61 | 58 € |
| SDIS | 31 | 59 € |
| SDIS | 53 | 59 € |
| SDIS | 14 | 60 € |
| SDIS | 09 | 60 € |
| SDIS | 27 | 61 € |
| SDIS | 56 | 61 € |
| SDIS | 12 | 61 € |
| SDIS | 87 | 61 € |
| SDIS | 21 | 62 € |
| SDIS | 72 | 62 € |
| SDIS | 86 | 62 € |
| SDIS | 22 | 63 € |
| SDIS | 35 | 64 € |
| SDIS | 39 | 64 € |
| SDIS | 08 | 65 € |
| SDIS | 79 | 65 € |
| SDIS | 43 | 66 € |
| SDIS | 57 | 67 € |
| SDIS | 76 | 67 € |
| SDIS | 49 | 67 € |
| SDIS | 51 | 67 € |
| SDIS | 81 | 67 € |
| SDIS | 68 | 68 € |
| SDIS | 05 | 68 € |
| SDIS | 36 | 68 € |
| SDIS | 67 | 69 € |
| SDIS | 40 | 70 € |
| SDIS | 71 | 70 € |
| SDIS | 44 | 71 € |
| SDIS | 37 | 71 € |
| SDIS | 88 | 72 € |
| SDIS | 02 | 73 € |
| SDIS | 17 | 73 € |
| SDIS | 16 | 73 € |
| SDIS | 38 | 74 € |
| SDIS | 45 | 74 € |
| SDIS | 60 | 74 € |
| SDIS | 15 | 74 € |
| SDIS | 59 | 75 € |
| SDIS | 24 | 75 € |
| SDIS | 28 | 75 € |
| SDIS | 82 | 75 € |
| SDIS | 95 | 76 € |
| Cat. | B | 76 € |
| SDIS | 66 | 76 € |
| SDIS | 11 | 77 € |
| SDIS | 50 | 77 € |
| SDIS | 63 | 77 € |
| SDIS | 64 | 77 € |
| SDIS | 91 | 78 € |
| SDIS | 55 | 78 € |
| SDIS | 01 | 79 € |
| SDIS | 42 | 79 € |
| Cat. | C | 79 € |
| SDIS | 32 | 79 € |
| SDIS | 48 | 79 € |
| SDIS | 54 | 80 € |
| SDIS | 80 | 80 € |
| SDIS | 46 | 80 € |
| SDIS | 47 | 80 € |
| Avg. | SDIS | 80 € |
| SDIS | 34 | 81 € |
| SDIS | 62 | 81 € |
| SDIS | 26 | 81 € |
| SDIS | 18 | 82 € |
| Cat. | A | 84 € |
| SDIS | 58 | 84 € |
| SDIS | 972 | 84 € |
| SDIS | 78 | 85 € |
| SDIS | 23 | 85 € |
| SDIS | 03 | 87 € |
| SDMIS | 69 | 88 € |
| SDIS | 04 | 88 € |
| SDIS | 41 | 88 € |
| SDIS | 52 | 89 € |
| SDIS | 07 | 91 € |
| SDIS | 65 | 91 € |
| SDIS | 74 | 93 € |
| SDIS | 976 | 93 € |
| SDIS | 83 | 94 € |
| SDIS | 19 | 94 € |
| SDIS | 25 | 95 € |
| SDIS | 971 | 96 € |
| SDIS | 73 | 99 € |
| SDIS | 90 | 100 € |
| SDIS | 84 | 102 € |
| SDIS | 974 | 103 € |
| SDIS | 973 | 103 € |
| SDIS | 77 | 106 € |
| SDIS | 30 | 109 € |
| SDIS | 89 | 113 € |
| SDIS | 06 | 114 € |
| SDIS | 33 | 114 € |
| SDIS | 13 | 142 € |
| SDIS | 2b | 145 € |
| SDIS | 2a | 151 € |