Paris, National demonstration firefighters. France on January 28, 2020. Credi: SEVGI / SIPA // SEVGI_1.565 / 2001290851 / Credit: SEVGI / SIPA / 2001290853 – SEVGI / SIPA
- The 4,500 firefighters in Pas-de-Calais are no longer allowed to wear beards.
- A decision taken at the end of January for safety reasons because the beard would prevent the complete sealing of the fire masks.
- A decision that caused a stir internally among bearded men
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The firefighters Have decided to wage war on the hairy. Since 28 January, the 4,500 Pas-de-Calais fire soldiers, whether professional or voluntary, no longer have the right to wear a beard. Goodbye hipster or beard look for three days, no more hair should go beyond the cheeks of the firemen. A decision that has nothing to do with a fashionable refractory chef of the moment.
Because this bearded hunt was launched for security reasons. “It is a decision advocated by directives from the Directorate General of Civil Protection. But also by manufacturers who manufacture self-contained breathing apparatus for firefighters. There is a problem related to the sealing of the masks and the toxicity of the fumes for those who wear beards. A smoke risk commission has been set up and has decided to ban beards for health reasons, “explains the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS) of Pas-de-Calais.
A decision that caused a stir
This decision is not an isolated case in France. For the past two years, several SDIS have applied this national directive and have started to ban the wearing of beards (Vaucluse, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Oise, Seine-et-Marne, etc.). An initiative which has stirred up the firefighters concerned.
“Our masks are already overpressure which limits the introduction of smoke. But some studies say that with the beard, the seal is not done well because it was programmed for smooth skin. Above all, we think that before we shave our beards, there are many other things that can be done about the health of firefighters. There was therefore clearly an outcry among the bearded, “recognizes Fabien Delsart, vice-president of the Autonomous union, majority among the firefighters.
More urgent measures than shaving the beard
Before banning the wearing of beards, for example, the firefighters would have preferred other measures to be taken, such as the procedure for washing clothes after the interventions now applied in Belgium. Still, the refractory will have no choice but to shave their beards. The only concession made for lovers of hair: the wearing of a small mustache will remain authorized. All that remains is to wait for the return of the mustachioed grace …
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