Ukrainian firefighters join battle against France fire in first

LE TEMPLE - After a 52-hour drive, Ukrainian firefighters on Aug 3 joined operations to fully extinguish the wildfire that devastated the Gironde region in south-western France – an unprecedented mobilisation in the country.

Seventy firefighters arrived on Aug 2 in a convoy of 15 vehicles, including 10 fire engines, after travelling through Ukraine, Poland, Germany and France to help their French counterparts west of the city of Bordeaux.

Foreign contingents have mobilised to assist France in fighting the blaze, which has burned 42,000 ha – an area four times the size of Paris – since it broke out on July 22.

“We always try to help those who need our assistance, even though things are very difficult for us right now – as you are well aware, we are at war,” said Khrystyna Pertsovych, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian emergency response team.

“Every day, our rescue workers are working under fire, but we still find a way to help those who help us.

“Firefighters are one big family that knows no borders. When Ukraine needed help, France stood by us.”

On Aug 3, Ukrainian firefighters worked to douse smoking hotspots along the boundary between burnt and unburnt forest in Le Temple, west of Bordeaux, to prevent the fire from reigniting.

Ukraine offered its assistance through the European Union civil protection mechanism, in which 10 non-EU countries also participate.

A Dash firefighting aircraft is seen through smoke on Aug 1 as it flies over a wildfire in Correns, south-eastern France. PHOTO: AFP

Thomas Mimiague, communications officer for the Gironde department fire and rescue service, said it was the first time Ukrainian firefighters had deployed in France.

“Any help is useful and valuable, so Ukraine offered its support and we naturally accepted it,” he told AFP.

The massive fires that hit France and Spain advanced quickly because of tinderbox conditions worsened by successive heatwaves the two countries have experienced since May.

The current European drought was made more severe by human-caused climate change, scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said in a recent study. AFP