Thoughts of a French Volunteer Firefighter

Long-time Firegeezer reader Laurence Delorme publishes a fire-related website in France (http://chezfireball.blogspot.com/ ) and recently interviewed Franck Gaviot-Blanc, a volunteer firefighter from the Vienne Fire Brigade.  Vienne is a city of 29,000 on the River Rhone and is located near Lyon.  Laurence has very kindly taken the time to translate the interview so that we can share it with you.  Thank you, Laurence.

LD:  How long have you been in the fire service?

 FG:  I’m a volunteer firefighter in a combined fire department with 70 career firefighters and 80 volunteer firefighters in the south east of France.  I have been in the fire service for 19 years.

Franck Gaviot-Blanc

LD:  What are the changes that you have noticed in the fire service, such as PPE, rigs….?

FG:  Concerning the tactics and operations,there were important changes in the French fire service. Firefighters now realize that “under ventilated” fires are special fires and bring many questions concerning tactics and operations. Before, for many firefighters, to stop a fire was very easy. You entered a building/house, then you looked for the fire and you put water on it.

The Vienne fire station is undergoing renovation and
will look like this when finished.

In 1991,when you say “backdraft” to French firefighters, they thought about the movie with the same title. But in 2002, backdraft became more “real” for the French firefighters when 5 of us were killed by this “fire gas event” in Paris during a fire. After this tragedy, some changes appeared in the French fire service:

* A national standard operating guideline was written in 2003. It tried to explain what backdraft and flashover are.

*Education and training in the fire service began to change. We now try to understand that smoke burns and we can learn to read it. To cool down smoke is not easy and can be dangerous.

*PPE have changed. Turnout gear made in leather are now made in textile.

*There are enough turnout pants for everyone at the firehouses.

*Firefighters are taught that they have to wear full PPE, gloves, hood, etc.

*Combination nozzles and the use of CAFS appeared in the French fire service after 2003.

*Education and training about nozzles and their uses are more precise now.

*Training in flashover containers are now more common. Before, the firefighters only learned theory but did not train and could not see the different stages of flashover.

The French firefighter begins to understand that to stop a fire,you need to have tactics. Especially if you can not stop the fire from outside a building. We are only beginning to understand some problems related to “under ventilated” fires. Even if it is not very difficult to understand them, they are not well understood. (During certain trainings, there are some mistakes about them in different training centers.) Forcable entry tactics or RIT are not taught during training in the fire service, except in a few FD’s.

Another problem that we can underline, there are not enough communication tools such as radio when firefighters operate on fireground. When firefighters enter a building to stop a fire or do a search, it is very hard for them to talk to the engine man who is outside the building near his pump panel. Many things have changed but the path of important changes has not been reached yet.

(Click on the “continue reading” link to see the rest of this article.)

LD:  Can you explain your work for PROMESIS?

FG:  I’m a volunteer firefighter, but I’m also a research technician in process engineering. I make different tests to try to understand different processes of air and fire My tests show the limits of certain methods and then I can try to ameliorate the studied methods. When you are a fire engineer,you have to use your thermodynamics knowledge,but also fluid mechanics, chemistry, physics, etc.

To stop a fire, you need to cool down a hot area (smoke or fire) and add water or foam to reduce dangers. Thermal exchanges are “topics” which are explained when you study the process of reactors. In France there is no special program at university which deals with fire engineering and operations/tactics. In 2000 I began to apply my knowledge about process and chemistry in the fire service. I tried to understand what happens in a building full of smoke or totally in fire.

I have to create a special test container (named SERAFIN),but also to write a special training scenario. I have been asked to obtain a delayed or retarded flashover in “ordinary”conditions. I also have to define what I will use to obtain the best results for my projects. I did some computer-fixing during my tests and I have to find specific measure systems, especially concerning the spray or the droplets on the nozzles we use(rate of impulse, space time delivery, speed of the spray/droplets). As I’m a scientist and a firefighter, I could help in the fire service. I looked for new concepts, but I’m also a fire instructor. In France there are firefighters and scientists, but they hardly ever work together. Not many people are both scientists and firefighters. With our project PROMESIS,we try to gather science and firefighting.

LD:  Is there something you would like to share with us, a call that was special or a funny situation?

FG:  The little story that I’m going to tell you is not funny or special, just something that I have noticed.

I have been a research worker for 12 years and I have been interested in fire research for 9 years. I have been in the fire service for 19 years as a volunteer firefighter in the same FD. I live near the only one fire training center of my french region. I tried to be in contact with the managers and the instructors of this training center but it was not possible. A lack of communications, I guess. That is pretty sad.

I’m in contact with many other firefighters who live in other french regions, but also English firefighters, Swedish firefighters and Finnish firefighters. In October, 2009, I will go to a conference/training in Germany. P. Grimwood, S. Raffel, and J. M. Donaught will give lectures and training. Even if my English is not perfect, I will do my best and learn from the lectures and trainings.

Many people think that if their English is not perfect, they will not learn, and the fact that they have to travel a lot can stop them. But that is totally wrong! What is really difficult is that some people do not REALLY want to learn from others and change their way of thinking. Humility is the keyword.

LD:  Thanks a lot for your time, Franck.

The Vienne FD is responding out of this municipal building
while their station is being renovated.