The Marine Firefighters of Marseilles – N°2 : 14th july fever | Le Bataillon des Marins Pompiers de Marseille | RMC Découverte

“There’s no such thing as a serious or a non-serious incident, once we go in, we go as fast as we can…”

In Marseille, on July 14, the housing projects come alive and organize firework displays one after the other. This is the night chosen by arsonists to put on their own little shows, in which the marine firefighters are the principal actors.

Trashcans are set alight at strategic points. Once the marine firefighters arrive, it’s a race against the clock… because, as soon as one fire is put out, others are immediately set alight at the next junction. On the surface, these trashcan fires don’t seem to be dangerous… but only on the surface… because some trashcans are veritable time bombs. The night of July 14 breaks all the records. Arsonists from different neighborhoods vie to torch the most vehicles.

During this nightmare of a night, the marine firefighters are met in sensitive neighborhoods by a hail of rocks. The message to them is clear: Marseille is our territory.

On this particular night, the Marseille marine firefighters live through another drama that will call upon a part of the brigade’s reserves: the Nice terrorist attack.

The Zone Operational Center, the COZ, immediately assessed the situation to go to the aid to the victims in Nice. The ORSEC plan is triggered: an emergency health and crisis plan that involves the Marseilles marine firefighters.

While we follow the marine firefighters on dozens of emergencies all over Marseille, the last units in the Saint Pierre firehouse leave to support their firefighting colleagues in Nice.