The signal to move comes suddenly — and within a minute or so the fire truck is full and speeding off into the distance, a cloud of orange dust swirling in its wake. "There's always a bit of adrenaline when you get the call," marine firefighter Julien says. "But we're trained; we're prepared."
Maitre Julien — whom DW can only identity by rank and first name — is part of Marseille-based battalion deployed to France's Gironde region to tackle a wildfire which prompted the largest evacuations in the country since World War II.
Some 264 firefighters were injured in the fight against the Gironde fire, four of whom lost their lives. In nearby towns, French flags still fly at half mast to mark the loss. "It's always on our mind," Lieutenant Damien, another marine firefighter, explains as his team members haul the firehose out behind him.Firefighters are still tackling a wildfire near Bordeaux Image: Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/picture alliance
Big battles on little sleep
Letitia, a firefighter and medic, said she tries to ask how colleagues are feeling "without being too intrusive."
