In France, 80% of firefighters are “volunteers” according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.
As the name suggests, the “voluntary” firefighter is a firefighter whose main activity is not. It generally has a salaried or liberal activity and exercises the profession of firefighter in parallel. His missions are to fight fires, help people and provide them with emergency care, but also to ensure the protection of people, property and the environment. And does not improvise a volunteer firefighter who wants. For Baptiste, 39, volunteer firefighter at the Verdun-sur-Garonne barracks, in the Occitanie region, it is a vocation as a father.
“”My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my cousins and my father were also volunteer firefighters, he explains to us. Throughout my childhood, I saw them give their free time after their work, on weekends and evenings of the week, and I thought it was great to serve the population. It is for this reason that I in turn committed myself as a young volunteer firefighter at the age of 13 for 4 years (Today the age to start is 16 years old, the regulations have changed since then, editor’s note). I couldn’t get involved as a firefighter at the age of 17 because I was depriving my studies. So I started at the age of 25, after more than 300 hours of training during my vacation. Gradually, I have acquired grades that allowed me to evolve as a team leader. Then, I followed numerous training courses for different specialties and different types of interventions, including FDF1 forest fire, 4×4, COD2 or even cod1 craft driver COD1 driver“, Develops our interlocutor.
“”Volunteer firefighter is an activity that takes a long time on personal and family life, in addition to our main work, but it is a real passion. At the Verdun-sur-Garonne barracks, the on-call starts on Friday evening at 8 p.m. until Monday morning 5 a.m.“, He said. On the salary side, a volunteer firefighter is not remunerated in the same way as a professional firefighter but he is compensated, up to his rank.”It is not the major factor (money, editor’s note) that motivates us to become a volunteer firefighter, we really have to want. On average, the range is between 600 euros and 1000 euros in the quarter (therefore 200 to 300 euros per month)“, Informs Baptiste.
It is possible to become a voluntary firefighter (SPV), whether we are in professional activity or not, provided that you are minimum, to have a certain physical and psychological ability, and to be up to date with certain vaccinations. It is also necessary to reside legally in France. The candidacy can be written on free paper and addressed to the departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS) in its city. Commitment as a volunteer firefighter lasts 5 years, automatically renewable.
Thanks to Baptiste, a volunteer firefighter at the Verdun-sur-Garonne barracks, for his testimony. Interview in May 2025.
