Social, Miscellaneous Justice
Vienne firefighters: why calendars are essential?
Due to the pandemic, the distribution of firefighter calendars is delayed. A bad new. We explain why.
Éric Pasquet, President of the Departmental Union of Firefighters of Vienne.
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It’s the firefighters … for the calendar! If you have not yet heard this ritual phrase, it is normal: the distribution has still not started, due to the containment linked to the coronavirus epidemic. Even in uniform, firefighters are, like others, forced to respect social distancing.
The money collected is used primarily to finance additional insurance And for the entire community of firefighters, this delay is very bad news. “We have to make people aware that we need their generosity”, insists Éric Pasquet, president of the departmental Union of firefighters of Vienne (UDSP 86), which represents 2,100 members (1,100 volunteer firefighters, 130 professionals, 130 young firefighters, 40 administrative and technical staff and 600 former) and above all the 44 friendly groups present in Vienne.
Why ? The vast majority of the money collected (1) is used to finance the supplementary insurance for firefighters. “For a firefighter father who died on a mission, the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of Vienne (SDIS 86) takes care of the insurance in ordered service but it is the insurance of the UDSP which covers charge that for orphans ”, explains Éric Pasquet.
Another recent example of the use of money from firefighters’ calendars: in October, the house of a volunteer firefighter in Vienne was destroyed by fire. “He obtained emergency financial assistance to cover his immediate needs thanks to an appeal for donations launched among the 44 associations. “ Whose money came from … calendars.
Donations also help improve premises in rescue centers and organize events for friendlyists and their families or support firefighters participating in competitions.
Each association is sovereign in the manufacture, printing and distribution of its calendars. After several weeks of reflections to try to harmonize the distribution, the UDSP left the choice to its friends: “It is difficult to provide a single and unique distribution solution because the sectors have their own specificity”, says Éric Pasquet. Each association therefore decides locally: distribution of calendars directly to letterboxes by a private company, a partnership with traders or the town hall, a stand in the market, a deposit in letterboxes allowing a sum to be returned by one. envelope T or an online pot… If all goes well on the front of deconfinement, the traditional door to door firefighters in uniform will be possible (while respecting barrier gestures) from December 15. The fire soldiers can’t wait. Because they really need it.
> www.udsp86.fr ; [email protected] (1) In general, every household welcomes the firefighter calendar. The inhabitants give between 8 and 10 € but these donations have been decreasing for five years, in connection with the economic situation. The total amount of the sums given in Vienne for the firefighters’ calendar is unknown, each friendly being in control of its distribution.
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