Fire Engines Photos

SDIS stands for Departmental Fire and Rescue Service. In France, with two exceptions, all fire and EMS are organized at the Department level.

These regional authorities were established by Napoleon, and each contains cities, large towns, villages and rural areas.

They vary a lot in size and population, and include both full-time, volunteer and hybrid stations, but they are all organized and equipped in very similar ways, with significant centralized guidance and direction from the Ministry of the Interior, so they are much more standardized than in many other countries.

Paris is protected by the BSPP, a brigade of the French army, which has recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and the port city of Marseille is covered by the BMPM, a battalion of the marine corps of the French navy, which is almost as old.

The military fire services have some latitude as regards fire truck specifications, but the SDIS are required to buy standard specification units, although they can specify different makes of chassis and bodywork.

The Renault Master may not be the only ambulance in use in France, but I have not recently seen or heard of any others, except for Range Rovers in mountainous areas.

Added by Rob Johnson on 04 December 2013.

To Rob Johnson : Fire services of France uses many other kinds of ambulances : Iveco Daily, Opel Movano, Peugeot Boxer, or Mercedes Sprinter. But at least Renault Master is the main one.

Added by Lambert Arnaud on 05 December 2013.

Thanks Lambert, I was a bit puzzled by Renault's apparent domination of the ambulance market in France. It does have a long body, a low load floor and a very comfortable ride, and makes an excellent ambulance - but it is not so much better than some other makes.

I know many SDIS have been buying IVECO, Mercedes, MAN and Scania fire trucks, as well as a lot of Renaults. So I have been surprised to see only Renault ambulances at fire stations I have visited in recent years.

Looks as if I was just in the wrong places at the wrong times!

Added by Rob Johnson on 05 December 2013.

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