TotalEnergies and the SDIS64: a win-win partnership for safety

Safety is part of TotalEnergies’ DNA. The Pau Site has pledged to support the volunteer fire-fighters at the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. A frame agreement was signed on February 27, 2025 between André Arribes, President of the SDIS64 and Jérôme Poncet, Head of the TotalEnergies Site in Pau.

The document signing was attended by Chief Fire Officer, Colonel Alain Boulou, Commanding Officer Claude Vidal, Head of Prospects and Development of Volunteering at the SDIS64. Pau Site staff representatives included HSE Manager Jean-Pierre Cômes and Isabelle Porterie, Head of External Relations, and members of TotalEnergies staff who are also volunteer firefighters: Sébastien Cambon, Jean-Robert Lascoumettes, Christophe Delage, Nicolas Delille and David Caubios.
 

A strong commitment to safety and solidarity

Since 2017, TotalEnergies and the SDIS64 have been working together closely so that staff at the CSTJF site in Pau and at the PERL can reconcile their working life and operational assignments as volunteer firefighters. The renewed, strengthened partnership illustrates TotalEnergies’ commitment to safety and to supporting volunteer firefighters, while promoting the Company’s citizenship engagement and societal responsibility.

Chief Fire Officer, Colonel Alain Boulou, also Departmental Director of the SDIS 64, emphasized the importance of the agreement: "From an operational standpoint, the agreement allows volunteer firefighters working on site, greater leeway to organize their availability. If they know that over a year, they can block several 12-hour periods in advance, it gives them the freedom to plan their working hours and commitment. For us at the SDIS64, it guarantees resources that can be adapted and better coordinated, in particular during periods when the fire and rescue services are in high demand."

Jérôme Poncet, Head of the Pau Site, expressed his satisfaction with the partnership: "Safety is at the heart of our corporate values and is our out-and-out priority. So, it’s perfectly logical for us to sign a robust, committed partnership with the SDIS experts in the region. Our contribution to firefighters’ training and availability for the local community is totally in line with our role as sponsors and responsible local players with a strong presence in the region. We also benefit from the agreement as our staff, who are also volunteer firefighters, have specific fire and safety competencies. There are currently five of them in the Company, and I’d like to thank them wholeheartedly for the choice they have made on a personal and citizenship level. I’ve noticed that there aren’t any women in the cohort as yet, but the profession is attracting more and more women, including in managerial roles."

The SDIS64 is at the origin of the initiative: "Employer and fire service partner" label, which includes the evaluation of how the agreement works in practice. That means that the employer effectively frees up the volunteer firefighters in compliance with the specified conditions. The SDIS64 has also created the "Employer and partner of the SDIS64" brand, registered with the INPI (French National Institute of Intellectual Property), which is awarded as soon as the agreement is signed, with the aim of promoting the partnership. The SDIS constantly needs to recruit and develop initiatives to incorporate partner companies that foster this citizenship commitment, grounded in altruism, solidarity and generosity.
 

Making a childhood dream come true by accomplishing public interest duties for the population and the region

In France, unlike anywhere else, 80% of firefighters in the civil security system are volunteers. The official framework of the partnership and Label enables members of staff to train or respond to callouts on a regular basis during their working hours, without affecting their salary or vacations.

Sébastien Cambon, a reservoir engineer at the CSTJF, signed up as a volunteer firefighter three years ago. He explains how he came to make the decision: "As a child, I was part of the Young Firefighters Brigade (JSP in French). I’ve always dreamed of being a volunteer firefighter, but with many years of higher education, business trips and family life, the opportunities to make that dream come true were few and far between. In the end, the right time came, and I don’t regret it at all. It gives me great personal satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment to be useful to others. The agreement between the SDIS4 and my company helps buoy up the system and offset the lack of personnel in fire & rescue stations during the day. In return, just like my colleagues who are in the same situation, I do my utmost to minimize the impact on the department I work in, even though everyone is pretty understanding. I hope that this kind of initiative will encourage others to do likewise" he concludes, with the approval of those present.

At the end of the meeting, discussions continued, covering a range of questions about how fire stations work. Both parties came to the conclusion that there are definite possibilities for developing closer ties on a more regular basis, for everybody’s benefit.