A pioneer, Pauline is the first female mechanic in the fire service

​A smile on his face and flamboyant hair. At 23, Pauline Dubuisson stood out in the large hangars of the departmental management of Sdis 51 in Fagnières, near Châlons-en-Champagne. Since April 15, she has become the first female mechanic to join this strategic workshop where we watch over the entire fire brigade fleet. ​

However, nothing predestined her to this universe. After a CAP and a professional Baccalaureate, the young woman was preparing for an expert technician title (BTS equivalent) on a work-study basis in a garage in Condé-sur-Marne. But the desire to see bigger, more complex, then tickled him. One lunchtime, she came across an ad: Sdis was looking for a mechanic. Pauline takes her chance, with the nerve.

“A real desire to learn”

“This is not a trivial application. They needed someone they could trust and who was eager to learn,” she confides. Her profile hits the mark: she is young, resourceful and displays “a real desire to learn”.

Today, it has therefore swapped overhauls of city cars for interventions on a fleet of 450 vehicles including around fifty heavy goods vehicles and around fifty ambulances. “It’s not at all like a traditional garage,” explains the young woman. It’s very varied because you go from a tanker to an ambulance or a van. We see the pneumatic system of heavy goods vehicles and the entire hydraulic aspect for the water pumps. “.

The stakes are high: every morning, the list of operational vehicles must be validated. Each vehicle requires specific expertise, combining pure mechanics, hydraulics for water pumps or mechanics for sirens. And everything must be operational before leaving for intervention. The safety of firefighters and victims depends on it. Pauline is therefore very meticulous.

Welcomed with open arms in a very masculine world

“Inside the ambulance, we check that everything is working. Whether it’s the drawers that open well to retrieve the equipment, or the hinges of the cabinets. Everything must be in place, even the stretchers which must slide easily.” In this very masculine world, the welcome was flawless.

“Every time I meet new firefighters, I have the right to a Welcome to us. That hadn’t happened to me before, feeling integrated so quickly,” she slips. And to those who think that the profession of heavy goods vehicle mechanic is a question of muscles, Pauline responds with pragmatism. “We have lifts and other tools. It is sometimes harder for very heavy mechanical parts. But we have to think and find solutions to wear as little as possible”

Soon, the young mechanic will be trained in the maintenance of large ladders, a technology that fascinates her. In the meantime, she enjoys the human dimension of her position. “It’s rewarding to know that the firefighters need me and my colleagues to be able to go on a mission. » In Châlons, Pauline is no longer just a mechanic: she is an essential link in the Marne relief chain.