Death of volunteer firefighter in the Landes: union files complaint for involuntary manslaughter against Sdis
A volunteer firefighter died on 10 April during individual training in Saint-Sever. His union is taking legal action against the Sdis of the Landes.
Complaint for involuntary manslaughter following death of firefighter during exercise in the Landes
The union of volunteer firefighters announced on Tuesday 19 May that it would file a complaint for involuntary manslaughter against the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis) of the Landes, according to France Info. The complaint follows the death of a volunteer firefighter on 10 April in Saint-Sever, during individual physical exercise. The union is calling for an investigation to establish the responsibilities of the Sdis.
A fitness assessment device deemed dangerous
At the heart of the dispute is the physical assessment device put in place in the department of the Landes. Firefighters, whether volunteers or professionals, must take tests designed to measure their physical fitness. However, unlike other Sdis which offer fitness monitoring, the one in the Landes makes maintaining the firefighter's active status conditional on the results obtained.
This rule stems from a service note signed by the departmental director "at the start of the year", according to Bruno Ménard, general secretary of the union of volunteer firefighters, in statements reported by France Info. However, volunteer firefighters do not benefit from the same supervision as their professional colleagues, who "have appropriate medical monitoring and training during their on-call hours", the union emphasises.
Volunteers left to their own devices
This organisation forces agents, according to the union, to "train independently, outside any structured supervision", for fear of being struck off. They are thus "exposed to significant physical risks without proportionate supervision", the union denounces, invoking endangerment of others' lives.
Bruno Ménard points to a concrete inequality in treatment: professional firefighters "can train during on-call times. They have emergency responders around them. If there is a problem, they have defibrillators." By contrast, volunteer firefighters are told to "sort it out on your own, you must be operational on the day", he criticises.
The Sdis denies all responsibility
The Sdis of the Landes refuses to accept responsibility for the death, arguing that the firefighter died "in his own time". A position that the union strongly contests. "We had a man who gave decades of his life to the fire service, we tell him to train on his own. He has a cardiac arrest, he dies, he leaves two children and a wife, but we tell him he went off to train alone and that it is not the responsibility of the fire service", says Bruno Ménard.
A second accident a few weeks later
On 3 May, less than a month after the tragedy, another volunteer firefighter from the department of the Landes survived a cardiac arrest, also occurring during a physical activity related to his operational preparation. The Sdis of the Landes did not respond to journalists' requests.
Source: France Info