Firefighters from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Bouches-du-Rhône departments are actively taking part in a training course on controlled burning, organised in collaboration with the DDT and the ONF. The main aim of this work placement is to carry out and coordinate preventive measures against forest fires.
They opt for a campaign to controlled burning on a given plot of land, provided that the criteria set out in the specifications are met and there are no contraindications. This approach aims to free up agricultural land and limit the spread of fires during the summer months. To this end, the organisers set up controlled burning ‘worksites’ to enable participants to acquire the necessary skills.
This training course prepares firefighters from the Hautes-Alpes to incorporate tactical burning into their forest fire-fighting methods. They are practising this technique for fighting fires by using fire itself, as demonstrated at Chanousse this summer. This method succeeded in stabilising and extinguishing a fire along a front stretching over 1.5 km. From now on, training in controlled burning will form an integral part of the Hautes-Alpes fire brigade’s fire-fighting strategies.
Illustration – firefighter / AM