Fire Engines of Service Territorial de L’Incendie et Secours (STIS)
SANDY GROUND--On Sunday, July 19, at 4:41pm the French-side fire brigade (sapeurs-pompiers), were called to a brush fire with a risk of spreading to cars and houses at 69, Sandy Ground Street.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a car on fire in a private garage of approximately 80 square meters, which then in turn started a fire in an open storage area of boats and various materials covering approximately 250 square meters behind the Renault-Nissan dealership.
Numerous specific flammable materials based on magnesium or aluminum alloys, as well as the presence of many gas cylinders and fiberglass boats, exposed the firefighters to particular risks.
At the height of the blaze, the fire was contained by five variable-flow hoses. Firefighters battled the fire until 12:15am on July 20. The emergency response prevented the fire from spreading to two nearby containers holding equipment, or to the house.
In total, three fire engines, one road rescue vehicle for lighting, an ambulance, a utility vehicle, the group leader's vehicle, and the column commander's vehicle (Commander Yannick Kervoelen, Commander of Rescue Operations), for a total of 16 personnel—three officers, five non-commissioned officers, and eight firefighters—were deployed to fight the blaze. It should be noted that the firefighters used a mini-excavator to spread out the tangled metal sheets and complete the extinguishment. The Gendarmerie was present at the scene. Préfet Cyrille le Vély also visited the site. No injuries were reported.
