The subject describes the aerial means and their coordination in the fight against fires in the Bouches du Rhône. The canadairs are capable of scooping up 6,000 litres of water in less than 8 seconds. Emergency Preparedness has 25 water bombers, including 12 canadairs. To coordinate the rotations of the different water bombers over the fire, a helicopter guides them. In the burning hills, airplanes discharge water or chemical retardants. The factual images of the scooping and rotation of the canadairs are punctuated by the interview of the airguide officer, Christophe RATINAUD, Sapeur Pompier des Bouches du Rhône. On the ground, firefighters overflowed by flames fall back to let the air intervene. Captain Isabelle BÉRARD of Sapeurs Pompiers des Bouches du Rhône explains the urgency of the situation.
Every spring, pilots of the Emergency Preparedness Canadairs train for the wildfires. The journalist filmed their training of the day on the lake of Arjuzanx. Dive firefighters secure the lake before the pilots approach the canadairs. Firefighters inspect coastal or inland water bodies for possible developments: the depth of the lake must be between 2 and 3 metres and there must be a corridor of at least 1000 metres for aircraft to take off after scooping. The first canadairs arrived in the southwest after the large fires of 1989 and 1990. They are prepositioned in the region during the summer or called to the rescue from the base of Marignane. The factual images of the training are punctuated by the interview of Commander Jean Yves PEREZ, SDIS des Landes.
The new Emergency Preparedness water bomber helicopter was presented to the Hérault firefighters. Equipped with a water pump of 3 meters, it can pump 800 liters of water in less than 40 seconds in any water bag, even a large plastic bowl filled by fire trucks on the ground. It is used to attack fire starters or manage fire endings. Its interest lies in the time savings of the rotations for its filling since it can be supplied in the pools of individuals. The images of the demonstration are punctuated by the interview of Colonel BIAIS, departmental directorate of the fire and rescue service of Herault.
The topic describes the typical days of a canadair pilot. André DAMANN has been working for 6 years for civil security to fight against fires. A former army pilot, he has accumulated 6900 flying hours. Days can begin as soon as the sun rises. As long as there are no incidents, the pilots have to wait at the base. After the 15 minutes required to heat the canadair piston engines, the pilot boarded with his engineer and made radio contact with the ground firefighters. Crews cannot spend more than 8 hours in the air, which is the time required for 80 rotations. The journalist filmed the pilots on the base, the departure of a canadair after a warning announced by the control tower, a water scoop and the dumping of water on a fire.
The black-and-white subject features the Catalina aircraft for fighting forest fires. Handed over to the National Civil Protection Service of Marignane, this device must be used to protect the forests around the Mediterranean.
The subject, without comment, proposes to follow a seaplane canadair during a firefighting mission in the Bouches du Rhône. The images show the check-up of the pilots, the take-off, the overflight of the fire, the drop-off and the scooping in the sea.
The entire French civil security fleet is gathered at the Marignane air base. Among the 23 water bombers, 12 Trackers. Unlike the canadair, this American-made aircraft must land. It is used to discharge 3.5 tonnes of retardant onto fireplaces, a product composed of water and clay. It is used most of the time to monitor the territory during patrols. Between 1985 and 1996, six pilots died in accidents.
The INA Galaxy 
