Two firefighters die in a forest fire near Bordeaux: the tanker truck’s protection system is under investigation

Mérignac – 22 July 2026: Two professional firefighters from the Saint-Médard-en-Jalles fire station died on Tuesday in a vegetation fire near Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. Their water tanker became trapped by flames in a pine forest. While their colleagues continued fighting the fire, a day began for the families, the station and an entire region for which there are no prepared words.

The deceased were named Will Schmitter and Anthony Berthome. Both belonged to the Service départemental d’incendie et de secours de la Gironde, abbreviated as SDIS 33. They had been deployed during the initial attack phase, when the situation developed particularly unfavourably due to shifting winds, according to the director of the Gironde fire service. The flames reached heights of between 20 and 30 metres.

The fire broke out at around 2:30 p.m. on the edge of a long-stay airport car park, near car dealerships, logistics warehouses and residential areas. According to SDIS 33, 26 hectares burned. The operation involved 120 firefighters, 60 vehicles and three aircraft. The fire was brought under control late in the afternoon; air traffic at the airport subsequently returned to normal.

The investigation now underway focuses on the cause of the fire and the exact course of the fatal operation. The Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office confirmed that an investigation had been opened. It must also be clarified how quickly the crew became surrounded by flames and what role the water tanker’s self-protection system played. These systems are designed to protect vehicles from thermal radiation through water misting in cases of extreme emergency. It is not yet known whether it was activated or under what conditions it could have been effective.

The director of the Gironde fire service, Inspector General Marc Vermeulen, spoke of a very violent fire. Especially in forest and vegetation fires, changes in wind, dry material and spread through tree canopies can cut off retreat routes that appeared safe within minutes. However, no judgment can be drawn from this fact about individual decisions made at the scene. The investigation must make it possible to reconstruct the sequence of events in a comprehensible manner and provide answers to the relatives.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that he would travel to Mérignac on Wednesday to pay tribute to the deceased and support their families, as well as their colleagues. The prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, spoke of deeply shaken personnel. President Emmanuel Macron conveyed his condolences to the families and praised the work of the firefighters.

The deaths of Will Schmitter and Anthony Berthome strike the French fire service during an already tense summer season. Only on 8 July, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter suffered fatal injuries in a vegetation fire in Savoy. In Mérignac, alongside the mourning, there now remains the sober duty to clarify what happened: what exactly occurred in those minutes when an emergency vehicle became trapped in the fire?