Educational Resources: Bringing Reunion Island’s Firefighting Heritage into the Classroom

The Association of Friends of the Firefighters’ Museum of Reunion Island and the Indian Ocean is launching a new section on its website: Education.

This section will gradually make free educational resources available to teachers. These resources are based on the books, research projects and heritage work carried out by the association.

Our aim is clear: to turn the history of firefighters in Reunion Island into a rigorous, accessible and useful teaching resource. Through this material, students will be able to explore local history, civil protection, risk awareness, civic engagement and the transmission of cultural heritage.

Resources for Primary and Secondary Education

The educational files will be published progressively on the website in PDF format.

They will be aimed at several school levels:

• primary school;
• lower secondary school;
• upper secondary school.

Teachers will be able to use these resources freely and adapt them to their own teaching plans, classes and school projects. Editable Word versions may also be provided on request.

Although these resources are primarily designed for the French school system, they may also be of interest to international educators, researchers, fire service institutions and museums working on disaster risk education, civil protection, local history and firefighting heritage.

An Interdisciplinary Approach

These resources are not limited to the history of firefighters.

They can be used to address a wide range of subjects and educational themes, including:

• local history;
• geography;
• civic and moral education;
• French language and literature;
• history, geography, geopolitics and political science;
• education for sustainable development;
• civil protection;
• risk awareness;
• document analysis;
• oral examinations and student presentations.

The files are designed as practical teaching tools. They may include lesson sequences, selected extracts, student worksheets, teacher answer keys, assessment grids, oral presentation activities, final projects and extension activities.

A First Series of Educational Files

The section will open with a first series of educational files based on the association’s first published or completed books.

These initial resources will cover the following topics.

The Firefighters of My Island
A resource for upper primary and early lower secondary students, introducing firefighters as a local public service through the fire station, historic vehicles, protective actions and local heritage.

Taking One’s Place – Bernard Acar, the Life of a Firefighter in Reunion Island
A resource for the final year of French lower secondary school, roughly equivalent to Grade 9. It focuses on life writing, public service, civic engagement, responsibility, professional transmission and preparation for an oral examination.

Forest Fires, Climate and the Planning of an Overseas Territory
A lower and upper secondary resource on forest fire risk, hazard, vulnerability, climate change, the Maïdo fires, biodiversity and the governance of emergency response.

From Municipality to Department: Creating and Organising a Public Service
A resource that invites students to work like historians on firefighting archives: primary sources, secondary sources, administrative orders, historical press articles, official reports and the departmental organisation of fire and rescue services.

Women, Commitment and Volunteering in Emergency Services
A civic education and history resource on gender equality, stereotypes, civic engagement, volunteering, young firefighters and the trajectories of pioneering women in Reunion Island’s fire and rescue service.

Writing Immediate History and Creating Heritage
A resource mainly intended for upper secondary students studying history, memory and heritage. It invites students to distinguish between history, memory, testimony, sources, heritage and heritage-making through the case of Reunion Island’s firefighters.

Roads in Reunion Island: Mobility, Risk and Road Rescue
A resource for lower and upper secondary students on mobility, road risk, road safety, the emergency response chain, territorial planning and risk-related behaviours.

Facing Cyclones: Civil Protection and the Resilience of an Island Territory
A lower and upper secondary resource on cyclone alerts, protection, continuity of public services, territorial solidarity and risk awareness.

This first series does not exhaust the association’s educational project. The Education section is intended to grow over time, alongside new publications, research projects and heritage initiatives.

Future educational files may accompany forthcoming books dedicated to other figures, themes, operational specialties, events and issues related to the history of emergency services in Reunion Island and the Indian Ocean region.

A Progressive Release

The files will be published progressively as they are finalised.

Each publication will specify:

• the target school level;
• the subjects that can be involved;
• the suggested duration;
• the educational objectives;
• the PDF download link;
• how to request the editable Word version.

These resources are provided free of charge as part of the association’s public-interest mission: to preserve, transmit and promote Reunion Island’s firefighting heritage.

Using Local History as a Teaching Resource

Through this new section, the association wishes to make its work available to teachers and students.

The history of firefighters in Reunion Island offers a concrete way to address essential questions: protecting, rescuing, preventing, serving, facing risks, understanding a territory, transmitting memory and building a shared heritage.

The Education section will be enriched progressively in the coming weeks and as the association develops new editorial and heritage projects.