A union of civil aviation pilots, fighting Forest fires: new evacuations in Gironde, nearly 11,000 hectares ravaged since Tuesday, asked for more planes and available personnel on Sunday, Civil Security recognizing a "
tense
" situation but emphasizing the future increase in material and human resources.
Read alsoThe great forest fires that have marked France since the deadly “great fire” of 1949
"
As I speak to you, we don't have the planes we should have
," Christophe Govillot, spokesperson for the National Union of Civil Aeronautics Flight Crew (Snpnac) told AFP. who "
does not want to argue, but just work
" in order "
to help our firefighter friends in the field
".
In Gironde, the latter were still battling on Sunday to fix two devastating forest fires which destroyed nearly 11,000 hectares of forest and vegetation.
12 Canadair for Civil Security
Based in Nîmes, the Civil Security air fleet has 12 Canadair, 6 Dash - a 7th will be operational in August, an 8th in 2023 - and 3 Beechcraft, according to Alexandre Jouassard, spokesman for Civil Security who underlines "
the increase in our air fleet resources
”.
But for Christophe Govillot, a third of each type of aircraft was not usable this weekend due to maintenance operations.
"
It's not satisfactory
," he says.
Read alsoFires: when can we really speak of a “megafire”?
"
It is essential to immobilize a device for 4-5 hours to carry out these checks
", replies Alexandre Jouassard who underlines that "
the more you drop (water), the more your machine is used
".
For Christophe Govillot, the mechanics are "
not numerous enough to do all the repairs, there are not enough spare parts
" and the private service provider responsible for maintenance, Sabena Technics, "
is not up to the task
" .
“
A plane has been out of engine for a month
” and “
repairs which should take 2-3 hours take 5 or 6 and are not very successful, with planes breaking down several days in a row
”, deplores the trade unionist.
Another complaint, "
the current number of pilots is not there: we are 16 captains, we should be 22
", estimates Christophe Govillot.
Blame it on the "
policy pursued by Civil Security for years
", according to him, however judging the training protocol signed in early July "
very positive
".
“
Coming back to this at this time when everyone is fighting forest fires seems inappropriate to me
”, replies Alexandre Jouassard, emphasizing the “
exceptional work of the teams in flight, in very difficult conditions
”.
The commander recognizes at the same time a "
tense operational device
".
"
A little more margin in the future is desirable because we know that we are heading towards an increase in the number of interventions
, ”adds the spokesperson.