Париж қалалық өрт сөндіру және құтқару бригадасы

French Army unit and primary fire and rescue service for the city of Paris

The Paris Fire Brigade (, BSPP) is a French Army unit which serves as the primary fire and rescue service for Paris, the city's inner suburbs and certain sites of national strategic importance. The brigade's main area of responsibility is the City of Paris and the surrounding [[Département in France of Seine Saint Denis, Val de Marne, and Hauts de Seine (the petite couronne). It also serves the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, the DGA Military Rocket Test Centre in Biscarosse, and the Lacq gas field. As with the other fire services of France, the brigade provides technical rescue, search and rescue and fire prevention services and is one of the providers of emergency medical services. The brigade is one of two fire services in France that is part of the armed forces, with the other being the Marseille Naval Fire Battalion (BMPM). It is a unit of the French Army's Engineering Arm (l'arme du génie) and the firefighters are therefore sappers (sapeurs, thus sapeurs pompiers). With 8,550 firefighters, it is the largest fire service in Europe and the third largest municipal urban fire service in the world, after the Tokyo Fire Department and New York City Fire Department. Its motto is "Save or Perish" (French "Sauver ou périr").

Founded in 1793 as the Corps des gardes pompes de la ville de Paris and following the 23 hour Austrian Embassy Fire in 1810 became a military organisation by imperial decree of Emperor Napoléon. On 18 September 1811, it became the Bataillon de sapeurs pompiers de Paris and was expanded to the Régiment de sapeurs pompiers de Paris in 1867. During the Franco Prussian War and World War I the sapeurs pompiers were mobilised for military service, while continuing to fulfill their firefighting responsibilities. On 1 March 1967 it became the Brigade des sapeurs pompiers de Paris.

The operational personnel (hommes du rang i. e. other ranks or rank and file) are usually engaged for five years. They must have French nationality, be between 18 and 25 years old, have a clean criminal record and have at least a vocational training CAP certificate. The selection is three days long, with sports tests, psychomotor tests, medical examination, etc. Training takes place in the Training Group (Groupement d'instruction, GI), at the fort of Villeneuve Saint Georges. The first period lasts two months, with the first aid and first responder training, and basic military instruction (including shooting). They then undertake practical training of four months in an operational fire company (compagnie d'incendie); this includes taking part in personal assistance and utility safety operations. The last stage of training is a further two months at the Training Group. Upon completing training, the firefighter joins a fire company.

Traditionally, the Paris Fire Brigade parades twice during the Bastille Day military parade: once on foot, and a second time with its vehicles. During the parade members are armed due to their membership in the armed forces. Evening dance parties are held at fire stations on (or near to) Bastille Day. These are known as a Bal des pompiers (firefighters' ball).