I must have been disturbed in my sleep last night, as I woke up just after one, and heard a sharp noise which sounded as if it came from somewhere in the house, something falling down perhaps? Hopefully, not an intruder. I got up and looked around, and returned to bed. A few moments later and I heard the sound of a noisy diesel engine being fired up, not the sound of a car or a lorry, but a generator, right beneath the window, Then it became noticeably lighter outside. I parted the curtains and was amazed to see an array of fire engines outside, bathed in emergency floodlights!
There were three support vehicles and two tenders parked in the area around the nearest bus stop, and the Avenue de la Riviera, the main road was closed off by parked fire service vehicles. About a dozen firefighters in full kit were at work unpacking and setting up equipment, and by the looks of it, setting up a Fire Command Centre. There was, however, no sight or smell of fire. The roads were dry, so no floods to contend with. I wondered about the possibility of a scaffolding collapse at the old Hotel des Alpes Theatre Ballroom under restoration nearby, or a fire within, but there was no activity over in that direction. So, I concluded this activity was a night time rehearsal for dealing with a major incident, or else a training session on the deployment of new equipment at night.
Having taken a few photos I returned to bed. After half an hour or so the pompiers packed up quietly and left, the generator powering down last, leaving only street lights and the silence of a winter's night, punctuated by the occasional passing goods train.
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