Le Figaro Nice
Since February 8, messages have appeared on the red cabins of the Alpes-Maritimes firefighters.
“Firefighters poisoned, exhausted, on strike”
or even
“Heroes undergoing chemo”
can be read on the various service vehicles.
A discreet mobilization since the Riviera firefighters continue to carry out their missions, but this reflects a real underlying concern about the risks of diseases and more particularly cancers to which they are exposed.
More than 90% of Maralpine firefighters are following the movement, indicates André Goretti, representative of the Autonomous Federation, the first union of departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS).
He warns that the strike will not end anytime soon.
“We are not cannon fodder
,” he insists to challenge and get the message across.
Behind this mobilization, the firefighters hope to raise awareness of the risks they run in facing the flames on a daily basis and the little protection they have in exchange.
André Goretti counts
“far too many colleagues”
suffering from cancer,
“and often young people”
, he explains with desolation.
“Of course, we often ask ourselves questions
,” insists the Antibes firefighter, recalling that these demands
“date but are still not heard
. ”
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“Substances that poison us”
For them, there is no longer any doubt that firefighters are affected by serious illnesses more than other professions due to being in contact with toxic and potentially contaminating products.
Targeted, flame retardants on wooden materials or even polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB),
“substances which poison us, this has been proven by scientific studies”
, annoys André Goretti.
A documentary broadcast last week on France 5 entitled
Vert de rage, la contamination a petit feu
, has finally increased anger and concern in the ranks of firefighters.
In the Alpes-Maritimes, the battles to be fought against the increase in forest fires are no more reassuring.
“We lack protection for our respiratory tract
,” explains André Goretti.
“When I am diagnosed with this disease, it’s like a slap in the face, I wonder if my career won’t suddenly stop
,” testified chief warrant officer Florent Lavaca at the microphone of France Bleu Azur on Tuesday. .
Even if they assume the risks linked to their profession, the firefighters did not think they could be
“consumable even in our flesh”
, he explained again on local radio.
With this movement, also followed in the neighboring territory of Var, the firefighters want the government to legislate to obtain better care.
André Goretti takes the example of other countries (the United States, Sweden or even Belgium) in which more occupational illnesses are recognized in connection with the exercise of this profession, unlike France, where only cancer of the lungs is referenced.
To do this, they wrote to all the parliamentarians in the department.