Le collectionneur pompier entretient la flamme
Open since June 2019, in the Felet area of Thiers, the Center Historique du monde Sappeur-Pompier brings together an extraordinary collection over an area of 1.500 m². Thus, old vehicles from France and around the world. But also documents, materials, gear, helmets, miniatures and toys. The Center then offers a complete immersion in the world of men of fire.
This collection intended for the general public could not have seen the light of day without the will and determination of Didier Lambert. Indeed, the current founder is president of the European Firefighters Museum Association (Efma), in charge of the management of the Historic Center. He knows the business well. "I became a volunteer firefighter in Thiers in 1974. After being spotted as a Red Cross rescuer," recalls the 62-year-old man.
As a true enthusiast, Didier Lambert brings the memory of firefighters to life. At the Historic Center of the World Firefighter, in Thiers. It is thus, in a Laffly truck, that Didier Lambert performs his baptism of fire: “It was rue Lasteyras. At the time, you could go into operation within a quarter of an hour of signing your contract, smiles Didier Lambert. I was then sent to look for material which I did not find. I was quickly made to understand that I had to find it as soon as possible! »
Landing 44 and Stan Laurel
Not entirely by chance, almost 45 years later, the same Laffly is thus part of the collection of the Center Historique. “It's a 6-cylinder petrol engine with cable brake. He had the best power weight of the time, details Didier Lambert. The streets of Thiers, he rode them without any problem even with 12 men on board”.
Thus, with the Efma association, the enthusiast will spend a large part of his weekends restoring this model which was used in Ambert.
“The engine had to be redone,” he explains simply. A trifle, or almost. At the sight of the five years required to renovate another centerpiece of the museum: the Ford Howe Us Navy of 1941 "Unique in Europe", underlines the president then.
From the Ford TT owned by Stan Laurel of the Laurel and Hardy duo. At the Dodge LaFrance having participated in the Normandy landings. Each room in the Historic Center has its own unique story. Inexhaustible in anecdotes, Didier Lambert evokes the very vocation of the museum.
“Perhaps as much as the objects, what interests us here are the stories. If we don't know how and by whom these devices were used, that is of no interest”.
Before 1996, getting by
Behind the vehicles, the 400 helmets presented or even the collection of outfits for firefighters from all over the world, the shadow of this profession composed of men and women, of which Didier Lambert is a part, hovers. These firefighters of a bygone era, whose spirit of resourcefulness seemed to equal their courage.
“Some municipalities did with the means at hand. Old trucks could, for example, be transformed by the village boilermaker or the firefighters themselves", explains Didier Lambert showing, with supporting evidence in front of him, an improbable Dodge WC 52 (having been used for the 1944 landings) which ended his career in the town of La Forie near Ambert until the XNUMXs.
Since then, the administration has gone through it and then leveled a good part of what made the charm of an entire era. "With the departmentalization in 1996, everything was standardized", regrets Didier Lambert, gladly nostalgic. Aware of the duty of memory, the collector has every intention of ringing these sirens of the past for as long as possible, before giving way. “The story will have to continue,” he simply hopes.
Convenient : the Historic Center of the World Firefighter is located in the industrial zone of Felet, 13, rue du Pré-de-la-Pie, in Thiers. Information on 06 07 05 97 70
