French firefighters are training, observing and answering calls alongside members of the Salisbury Fire Department this month as part of a tradition dating back to 1993 that has become known as The French Connection.
But unlike the 1971 film about heroin smuggling from the French port of Marseilles to New York, these imports are considered a very welcome addition.
“It’s been a good cultural exchange,” said Assistant Chief Bryan Records, who has known Eric Dumonceaud, a career firefighter from Agen, a town southwest of Bordeaux, since 1995.
Dumonceaud arrived for his eighth trip to Salisbury on Feb. 7, with fellow firefighter Julien Turlure and Stephanie Bizet, a volunteer nurse-firefighter who goes on ambulance calls. They will be here through Feb. 29, and bunking at Salisbury Fire Headquarters on Cypress Street.