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O. : “Once the response team has left the fire station on a call, the something totally different. And we will try to bequeath a good
men continue putting on their gear. The drive to the incident is impression of ourselves to future generations. It will no longer
part of the response. A response is like a choreography. Everyone be modern to be an individualist. It will no longer be modern just
has a role to play. Everyone goes through a series of tasks. If they to accumulate wealth.” Jacques Attali, Histoire de la modernité –
have knowledge of the location, they try to mentally picture it as Comment l’Humanité pense son avenir ?, Éditions Robert Laffont,
preparation. The keyword is concentration. Nothing is said in the Paris, 2013, p 186.
cabs. Silence reigns. Anything to be spoken can be said on the way
back.” “We will be able to enter an extraordinary virtuous circle of life:
the more we help others, the happier we will be; the happier we
On returning to the fire station, the entrance barrier is activated are, the more we will feel like helping others.” Frédéric Lenoir,
manually either by the control centre, the number-plate recogni- Du bonheur, un voyage philosophique, Fayard, Paris, 2013, p 108.
tion system or the RFID system at the entrance receiving signals
from the approaching vehicles. THE CONTROL ROOM (CENTRE DE TRAITEMENT DES ALERTES
OR CTA), THE OPERATIONAL NERVE CENTRE.
The vehicles use a different road when returning, bringing them
up to the garage’s IN doors. “In a fire department, the control room plays a key role, greatly
contributing to the success of any response.” Philippe Samyn
Close to the IN doors, the response team drops off any wet or
soiled equipment in the designated places and re-equips the ve- The control room’s role is not limited to receiving incoming
hicle with hoses, breathing apparatus, ropes, extinguishers, etc. calls and passing on response messages via the intercom. At
The driver and firemen get back into the vehicle, possibly drive an operational level, the control room must always know which
through the car-wash to clean the equipment and vehicle and vehicles are available (in the fire station) or out on a call (en route
then return the vehicle to its assigned place. or at the incident location), without having to visibly monitor the
comings and goings of the vehicles (via visual monitoring and/or
The firemen remove their personal protection equipment and CCTV).
stow it in the racks. The driver plugs in the recharging cable
and returns the navigation device to its rack. The systematic closing of all barriers, doors and gates to the
premises helps prevent unwanted intrusions and unplanned
The response team leader goes to his office to compile his re- journeys. This underlines the importance of the right equipment
sponse report, while the rest of the team take a shower, go back (CCTV, vehicle and people access control systems, vehicle track-
to the work they were doing before being called out, or return ing systems together with RFID tags in crew members’ personal
the living/sleeping quarters. protection equipment and in all appliances), all of which is man-
aged by a redundant computer system.
Where necessary, the team leader and/or the duty officer will
meet up with the team in the training room for a debriefing The control room is in charge of all radio communications with
session. dispatched response teams via ASTRID, a network specifically
designed for the emergency services and radio devices fixed
“In addition, a “disinterested altruism” in which each of us to the work desk.
understands that the other’s happiness, even if not of use to us
personally, can contribute to our own happiness. Being altruistic, The IT tools used in the control room allow valuable information
even if in a disinterested manner, is per se gratifying in that it to be transmitted to a response team: itineraries, hydrants or
makes us happier, more open – and even more intelligent. We no other water sources, any specific risks listed in the SRI database,
longer try to please others, but instead to give them pleasure, the location of gas pipes, any internal emergency plans of the
