“I am proud of the result, rejoices Luc Carvounas, the mayor (PS) of Alfortville, after the official launch of the municipal civil security reserve in the town.
52 people, including around twenty municipal agents, have actually joined this unit, which will be able to lend a hand in the event of a flood, for example, or other types of natural risks or major incidents.
“48 people live in the city, adds Hervé Pilet, coordinator of the municipal reserve and head of the risk prevention department at the town hall.
They come from all walks of life and range in age from 22 to 77.
It is the second municipality in the department to have implemented this system after Saint-Maur-des-Fossés in 2015.
“Under no circumstances are these volunteers there to replace the police, firefighters or rescue workers, recalls the city councilor who launched the idea last March during a municipal council.
They are there to provide support, to welcome evacuees…” They are there to bring aid to the population in all its forms.
The town is in a 100% flood zone.
Thus, these inhabitants will be able to answer the call for help and lend a hand to the rescuers, in particular when welcoming people evacuated during a fire or flood.
A necessity especially in the latter case, the town being completely flooded in case of flooding.
"This makes it possible to limit the deployment of rescue teams who can keep their intervention capacity in other towns for example, specifies Hervé Pilet, They will be trained to set up emergency tents, spiked beds, receive and reassure the public… but they are not first aiders.
Some may be tempted to join the Red Cross, the Order of Malta or civil protection in particular.
Reservists already deployed
Barely created, the unit has already demonstrated its usefulness last week.
“We had a big water cut and more than 120 homes were affected.
Four members of the reserve were deployed to distribute bottles of water to residents while the cut was repaired, details the mayor.
This would have been very useful during the tornado in January 2021.”
Eventually, these communal reserves, already strongly deployed in the provinces or in other departments of Île-de-France, should become widespread in the department.
“It is a wish of the prefecture, believes the city councilor, who has measured its importance, particularly during the Covid crisis and its successive confinements.