Raising awareness of the risk of wildfires and forest fires

As part of the implementation of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs' General Department of Civil Security (Direction générale de la sécurité civile), the "Wildfire and Forest Fire" expert working group has published guidelines on what action to take during the wildfire and forest fire wildfire season.

Depending on how weather conditions develop in the coming weeks, and especially in the event of prolonged periods of high temperatures with no rainfall, causing drier vegetation in meadows and forests, any careless act, such as discarding a cigarette butt without extinguishing it completely, or sparks from a car or farming machinery, can be enough to start a fire.

As such, we ask that you remain especially vigilant to the risk of wildfires and forest fires, and that you adopt the following practices:

• Always ensure your vehicle or farming machinery carries a fire extinguisher so that you can put out, or at least contain, a fire.
• Inspect your farming machinery regularly to prevent any technical problems that could cause sparks.
• Fill unused tanks with water and make them available to the firefighters in case of need.
• Always keep a harrow on hand to create a vegetation-free firebreak in the event of a fire.
• In the event of a fire, do not put yourself in danger. However, stand ready to assist the fire department if they ask you to (e.g. using technical equipment or carrying water).