An outpouring of solidarity arose spontaneously to help firefighters put out a fire in the Fontainebleau forest. Residents of nearby towns and traders mobilized. Farmers provided their water tanks to replenish water supplies in the trucks.
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They hardly need to leave the forest. Fire trucks supply water to farmers. Cargo delivered by tractors closest to the fire. “So that they don’t have to travel miles for nothing to bring water further away, we are as close as possible to help them in any way we can.”– says Benjamin Berthelot, a farmer from Maisoncelles-en-Gatinet (Seine-et-Marne). Water is loaded outside the forest into fire hydrants. About a hundred farmers from surrounding towns, as well as from neighboring departments, come and go back and forth. “At least it helps the firefighters, and at least we feel useful in trying to put out the fire.”– admits Gregory Wieczorek, a farmer from Seine-et-Marne.
Farmers and their loved ones mobilize day and night in the middle of the forest. Improvised logistics that can change the course of fire. “At a construction site, I have almost 30 trucks putting out a forest fire. They wait at the water intake to bring water. There is no waiting there. So this is a very valuable help.”says Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Compta, commander of relief operations.
On Tuesday, July 14, in the evening, mobilization continues. In just an hour, farmers assembled a straw basin to supply water-bombing helicopters. And for three days now, they have been taking turns turning over the earth and burying straw from the fields closest to the fire and preventing the fire from spreading.
Universal solidarity: a rest room was improvised in the evacuated equestrian center. Neighborhood volunteers prepare food for firefighters. “The fact of meeting, refreshing and nourishing is important for the rest of the commitment,” – says Cedric Escudero, head of the tactical fire service SDIS Haute-Garonne. Since Tuesday morning, donations have been pouring in from individuals and businesses to support mobilized firefighters.