The Marine Firefighters of Marseilles – N°4 : emergency in the calanques | Le Bataillon des Marins Pompiers de Marseille | RMC Découverte

“No mission is like any other, so each one makes us develop, makes us grow…”

The GRIMP, the dangerous situation reconnaissance and intervention group, operate day and night in the calanques national park. This is one of the most beautiful of France’s nature parks. But this paradise for the people of Marseille and rock-climbing enthusiasts can sometimes turn into a nightmare. The Saint Pierre GRIMP team carries out an emergency evacuation of a person who’s fallen onto a ledge some 60 feet over a cove. At this stage, the least jolt or false move can seriously impair the state of the victim, whose spine maybe twisted or even broken. A rescue operation carried out in coordination with the marine firefighters from Pointe Rouge and their lifeboat, the “Bonne Mère” from Marseille.

The Pointe Rouge team attends one emergency after another and tries to beat the record for a tourist who’s lost consciousness on the beach at Goudes, a place totally inaccessible for normal rescue methods. The doctor’s diagnosis: a stroke.

The Bonne Mere beats all speed records to get the victim back to the Pointe Rouge base in less than 30 minutes and then on to the La Timone hospital.

Back in Marseille, in the old city, a woman jumps out of a window and falls 50 feet onto a roof. 15 of the GRIMP team do all they can to save her…