Sécurité Civile
Encyclopedia
Minister of the Interior (France)
The Minister of the Interior in France is one of the most important governmental cabinet positions, responsible for the following:* The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes...
, the Direction de la Défense de la Sécurité Civile (Department of Civil Defence and Emergency Preparedness) is a French Government civil defence agency, employing some 2,500 civilian and military personnel over 60 sites. Known as the Protection Civile until 1976, the Sécurité Civile is split into several branches.
The Sous-Direction des Sapeur-pompier
Sapeur-pompier
The fire service in France is known as Sapeurs-pompiers, except in Marseille, where naval "sailor-firefighters", marins-pompiers, provide fire and rescue services.There are two categories:...
s are the French firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s.
The Sous-Direction des opérations de Secours et de la coopération civilo-militaire (Rescue operation and civil-military cooperation branch) is involved in bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
, coast guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
, mountain rescue
Mountain rescue
Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain rescue often occurs has resulted...
, air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
and aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
duties.
Aircraft
Sécurité Civile aircraft operate for the Rescue operation and civil-military cooperation branch under the Groupement des Moyens Aériens Sécurité Civile (Aerial Group). Aircraft carry the title SECURITE CIVILE on the fuselage sides, together with the international civil defence symbol. The aircraft are divided into the Groupement des Helicopteres de la Securite Civile (Helicopter Group) and the Groupement des Avions Bombardiers d'Eau (Water Bomber Group).Helicopter Group
- Aerospatiale Alouette IIIAérospatiale Alouette IIIThe Aérospatiale Alouette III is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by Sud Aviation. It was manufactured by Aérospatiale of France, and under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India as Hal Chetak and Industria Aeronautică Română in Romania.The Alouette III is the...
(6)
Six Aerospatiale Alouette III SA316B are still in operation, based at Alpe d'huez, Chamonix, Nîmes and Paris.
- Eurocopter Écureuil (4)
Four Eurocopter Écureuil AS-350 are operated out of Cannes, Nîmes and Marseille.
- Eurocopter EC-145 (30)
Sécurité Civile currently operates 35 EC-145 helicopters that were delivered between 2002 and 2005. The fleet has accumulated over 100,000 flight hours. The EC-145 fleet is used for search and rescue, fire fighting, emergency medical services
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
(EMS), surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
and law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
. EC-145s are deployed on 22 Sécurité Civile bases in France and the French Overseas Territories. An order has been placed for a further five helicopters, to be delivered from January 2009. This will enable the phasing out of the six remaining Alouette III helicopters. The EC 145 carries out an average 10,000 rescue missions each year, representing over 13,300 flight hours.
Bases
Helicopter group bases of operation are located at:.- Ajaccio (Corsica)
- Annecy
- Bastia (Corsica)
- Besançon
- Bordeaux
- Cannes
- Clermont Ferrand
- Granville
- Grenoble
- Le Havre
- Lille
- Lorient
- Lyon
- Marseille
- Montpellier
- Paris - Issy-les-Moulineaux
- Pau
- Perpignan
- Pointe-à-Pitre (GuadeloupeGuadeloupeGuadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
) - Quimper
- La Rochelle
- Strasbourg
The Echelon Central (command centre), and helicopter maintenance base is located in Nîmes.
Helicopters are detached to several other bases seasonally. In summer, aircraft are detached to Courchevel, Alpes d'Huez, Gavarnie, Lacanau, and Chamonix. In winter, aircraft are detached to Chamonix and Alpes d'Huez.
Water Bomber Group
- Bombardier CL-415 (12)
12 Bombardier CL-415s are currently operated by the Sécurité Civile, each able to drop 5,800 L (1,530 US gal). France was the first nation to commit to the CL-415 "Superscoop" in 1992, so that it could phase out its CL-215s.
- Bombardier Dash 8 (2)
Two pre-owned Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s, acquired from Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and the largest airline in Scandinavia....
, were modified by Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia, for the Sécurité Civile to act as fire-fighting water bombers in fire season and as transport aircraft off season. This aircraft is designated the Q400-MR (Multi Role). The aircraft can be reconfigured into the passenger, cargo or aerial fire control role in under three hours and can drop 10,000 L (2,640 US gal) in the tanker role.
- Conair Turbo Firecat (9)
Nine Conair Turbo Firecats are in operation. The Turbo Firecat is a turboprop conversion of the Grumman S-2 Tracker, carried out by Conair
Conair
Conair or Connair may refer to:*Conair Group, a company formerly known as Conair Aviation, specializing in firefighting apparatus for aircraft...
(now Cascade Aerospace), Canada. The first delivery to the Sécurité Civile was in August 1988.
Bomb Disposal
307 Sécurité Civile bomb disposalBomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
experts are based at 20 bomb disposal units, including 2 overseas units (Guadeloupe and French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
). They are responsible for the detection, removal, disposal or destruction of suspicious objects. They also provide assistance during official travel or large demonstrations and de-arm and destroy unexploded ammunition still present from the two world wars.
In 2004, tonnes (440 tons) of munitions was disposed of, whilst 43 bomb disposal experts were deployed on the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings, 17 on the 60th anniversary of the landing in Provence and 16 on the Pope's visit to Lourdes.