Feria de Béziers 2024: Hérault firefighters always ready to react to the hazards of the festival

Les pompiers ont investi le collège Paul-Riquet pour leur dispositif spécial Feria. Dorian Cayuela – DORIAN CAYUELA

Tous les soirs de Feria, de 18 h à 6 h, près d’une centaine de pompiers se relaient pour soigner les fêtards blessés. Selon le commandant Vignessoule, on compte environ 45 interventions par soir.

“For the Feria, we have the largest fire station in France”, explains Commander Sébastien Vignessoule, head of the Béziers security center. It is at the level of the Place du Général de Gaulle, at the Paul-Riquet college, that the firefighters have set up their camp for these five days of the Feria.

In all, there are between 80 and 100 volunteer and professional firefighters who are present every evening on the site. Aged 16 to 65 and from all over Hérault, they are in place every evening of Feria from 6pm to 6am.

"Alcohol, drugs, falls, injuries…"

"Everything speeds up when the shows end. From midnight to 3am, it's the most intense period of the evening", says the commander, who must, with all the firefighters mobilized, be able to face the worst. "Every evening, we have about forty interventions. Most of the time, these are obviously excessive alcohol or drug consumption. We also have falls, injuries, sometimes due to fights. But it's all due to party behavior and crowd movements. We have enough personnel and space to act if necessary. There is always, for example, the risk of an attack. We have to be ready."

"A real supply chain"

According to the commander who has been in office for three years, the number of interventions has slightly increased since previous years. However, he specifies that the Feria has remained safer in recent years thanks to several operations. “The Feria area has been reduced. We are also in constant communication with the police and other emergency services”, the officer explains, observing the different parts of the site.

“To welcome patients, we have the medical section at the entrance to the college so that they can be taken care of as quickly as possible. There is also a sobering-up tent and all the medical and pharmaceutical equipment that is stored. And then, above all, we have the command post. We receive all the calls and all the information there. It's a real supply chain."

During the Feria, this exceptional system is added to the traditional firefighters' guards. Outside of the party areas, 25 firefighters are therefore permanently present in the rest of Béziers.

Despite the increasingly large crowds, particularly during these first evenings of the Feria, the interventions go relatively well. "We receive a warm welcome from the party-goers. When we arrive, people move aside and make room. In the bodegas, the DJs turn down the sound. And we have all the vehicles available to intervene quickly."

Simple actions to adopt

While visitors seem increasingly aware of the risks associated with the festival, hazards remain a daily occurrence for the Hérault firefighters mobilized during the Feria. Commander Vignessoule once again gives several actions to take in the event of an emergency. “The first thing is obviously to have a reasonable consumption of alcohol. It is also important to know that the danger lies both inside and outside. outside the Feria areas. So do not hesitate to blow into the breathalyzers distributed by the municipal police at the convention center and the Arena. Otherwise, do not hesitate to call us and alert the emergency services when you see a person in danger. All calls made in the Feria area are redirected directly to us. Finally, during interventions, always facilitate access to firefighters so that we can work in the best conditions."

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