French Phrase of the Day: Fixé et maîtrisé
fixé et maîtrisé?
Because
although the individual words can have a variety of meanings, this phrase has a very specific technical sense.
What does it mean?
Fixé et maîtrisé
- roughly pronounced feex-ay ay may-tree-zay - translates precisely as 'fixed and mastered', but it means 'contained and under control' when used in the context for wildfires.
When a wildfire breaks out, which happens with increasing frequency during France's hot summers,
firefighters will first seek to contain the fire. Once they have done so, they can say
le feu est fixé -
t
his means the fire is no longer spreading, but it is still burning.
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The following step is to be able to say the fire is
maîtrisé
, which mea
ns that the largest flames have been extinguished and that firefighters are continuing to keep the edges under control.
As such, if a fire is
fixé et maîtrisé
, that means it is no longer spreading and under control.
After that, once firefighters have surrounded the fire and begun work to extinguish it, they can refer to it as
un feu circonscrit.
The final step is to say it is
noyé et éteint
(extinguished). In order to do this, firefighters remove all hot spots, spray the edges generously, and scrape the ground if necessary.
All of these steps can take several days to weeks, depending on the size and severity of the fire.
READ ALSO
:
The essential app for keeping track of wildfires in France
In everyday life,
fixé
has a somewhat similar meaning to English. It can be used to mean a fixed space or time, or something that is attached (eg
fixé au mur
- attached to the wall), but it is not used in the sense of being repaired. If you want to say 'I fixed the broken doorbell' you would say
J'ai réparé la sonnette
.
When it comes to
maîtrisé
it again is somewhat to the English 'mastered' - its most common use is in reference to a skill eg
J'ai
maîtrisé la langue française -
I have mastered the French language. You might also hear it used for animals if you want to talk about, for example, a dog being restrained and under control.
Use it like this
L'incendie dans le sud-ouest est désormais fixé et maîtrisé. Les habitants pourront bientôt regagner leurs domiciles. -
The fire in the south-west is now contained and under control. Local residents will soon be able to return to their homes.
Le chef des pompiers a déclaré que l'incendie était fixé et maîtrisé à 6 heures du matin. -
The fire chief said that the fire was contained and under control at 6am.
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