French firefighters’ union warns of ‘health disaster’ over lack of protective equipment

A French firefighters’ union warned Sunday of a potential “health disaster” among emergency responders due to inadequate protective equipment as thousands continued battling wildfires across the country, according to broadcaster Franceinfo.

“We are on the brink of a health disaster within the ranks of firefighters,” Remy Chabbouh, spokesperson for the SUD union, told Franceinfo.

Chabbouh said firefighters lacked filtering hoods to protect them from smoke, adding that crews were responding to wildfires “with pieces of cloth over our mouths and noses.”

He urged authorities to address the situation quickly to prevent what he described as “long-term deaths.”

Chabbouh also noted that four firefighters had died during operations in recent weeks.

The remarks came as thousands of firefighters remained deployed to combat wildfires across France.

In the Gironde department, up to 3,300 firefighters were mobilized to battle a wildfire that authorities said had been brought under control Saturday, according to the prefecture.

More than 330 firefighters received medical treatment, although no fatalities were reported.

In the Var department, about 1,500 firefighters continued battling flare-ups Sunday.

The prefecture said smoke from the fire was visible across much of the department and that ash had fallen over a wide area. Authorities also distributed protective masks to residents in affected municipalities.

In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said wildfires in France were “currently under control” overall, while stressing that the situation remained “highly changeable.”

He also announced plans to appoint a national coordinator to oversee reconstruction in fire-affected areas and urged tourists to return to Gironde “in solidarity.”