An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir February 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | by PAT POLAND F rom the turmoil years of the First Empire, through the 'year of Revolutions' of 1848, the 1871 Commune, the Ger- man occupation of WWII, to the recent awful massacres, one organisation has been a constant presence on the often bloody streets of Paris: the Paris Fire brigade, or the brigade des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris (bSPP) which commemorated its 200th anniversary in 2011 and whose motto is Sauver ou Périr (Save or Perish). On a lovely Parisian summer's night in 1810 a grand ball was held at the Austrian Ambassador's residence to celebrate the marriage of the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, to the homely, 18-year-old Marie Louise, daughter of the Austrian Em- peror – a political match. Summer came late to Paris that year, but when it finally arrived the city sparkled with magic. All that first day of July, frock-coated flunkies fussed to and fro about the palace, ensuring everything was perfectly in place for the distinguished guests. The Ambas- sador had even ordered a case of the Emperor's favourite tipple, the sweet white Chateau d'yquem from the Sauternes region of Bordeaux. After dinner, in the specially-constructed wooden ballroom, the best of Pommery champagne flowed, and everyone, not least Napoleon and his new bride, was having a good time. Nobody took the slightest notice of the open French windows and the voile curtains flapping in the balmy evening breeze com- ing up from the Seine. And nobody noticed when the curtains wafted gently up against a nearby sputtering chandelier. Then, disaster struck. Someone spotted the incipient blaze and screamed 'au feu!' As the flames coiled along the ceiling, panic gripped the revel- lers. The roaring, crackling noises grew louder by the second. Napoleon and Marie-Louise were quickly ushered out through a side door onto the front lawn. Messengers were dispatched into the city for the fire engines. The crowd waited...and waited. After what seemed an eternity, the firefighters arrived – many of them old men who should have been retired years previously – and vainly tried to extinguish the flames with their antiquated equipment. Napoleon, clutching his wife's arm, quietly seethed with rage. After 23 hours the fire effectively burned itself out, but not before ten people had perished and dozens were seriously injured. The Ambassador, Prinz Schwarzenberg, was badly scarred and Napoleon's heavily-pregnant sister, Caroline, was dragged out. She later miscarried. A firefighting corps had been established in Paris as far back as 1716. A 66-man unit, it was created in the aftermath of a series of disastrous fires that had levelled great swathes of the city. Initially effective, during the years of revolution and great political turmoil its discipline and training deteriorated to the point of incompetence. So, by Imperial Decree No 971 on 18 September 1811, the Em- peror instituted the crack Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris (which roughly translates as 'Engineer-Pumpers'), as an integral part of the Grand Armée. It was a seminal moment in European fire service history. Initially at battalion strength, with 576 officers and other ranks, it was upgraded to a regiment in 1867. In 1875 it was incorporated into the army Corps of Engineers (Génie), and two years later its status was changed from regiment to that of full brigade. Today, sadly, the exploits of Paris's firefighters, with their distinctive silver-coloured Gallet helmets, are only too well known to us from our television screens. The brigade's main area of operations is the City of Paris and the surrounding départements of Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, and Hauts-de-Seine with a The fire at the Austrian Ambassador's residence in 1810. Firefighters in action during the German bombardment of Paris in 1871.

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