Joint preparedness activities for wildfires in the Komarom-Komarno region
The wildfires are representing an emerging environmental risk in the Danube Region. Due to climate change, the number of events and the level of their impact has increased. The Action plan of the Environmental Risks Priority Area (PA5) of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) focusing on strengthening the cooperation between disaster response organizations is one of the main goals, which is also in the focus of this project. Concentrating on a specific hazard will provide an opportunity to identify the gaps and best practices based on the characteristics of cross-border cooperation of volunteer assets.
The volunteer firefighters in the region will have a chance to get to know each other’s capacities, tools, and equipment which would lead to better interoperability. Therefore when it comes to real emergencies they will be better prepared to respond jointly. The citizens of the region will be safer from wildfires as a result of the project. The planned workshops and joint exercises will serve as a platform for the volunteer fire brigades of the region to prepare for cross-border interventions. The information campaign will further improve the awareness of the public; hence they would benefit from the activities by gaining knowledge about wildfires. The involvement of youth as volunteers and as the audience would form the behavior of the public in general.
In order to improve the effectiveness of response efforts, it is necessary to share the operating procedures of both organizations. This eventually will lead to smoother interventions by joint response activities. Joint training, workshops, and exercising will support the improvement of more effective responses will support the experience and knowledge sharing between the partners. With reaching a common understanding the effectiveness of the response efforts will significantly improve. Based on the joint work and discussions, recommendations will be outlined for the standardization of the capacities of volunteer fire brigades responding to wildfires. The volunteer fire brigades also intend to raise public awareness of wildfires and the potential risk caused by them.
Number of Partners: 1 (Voluntary Fire Protection of The Slovak Republic)
Project Budget: 26 980 EUR
Funded by: Visegrad Fund
Project Duration: 01/02/2020 – 31/07/2021
Project Lead Partner: Komárom-Esztergom County Firefighter Association
Contact Person: Gábor Ágoston, project manager
Contact Details: komarom@tuzoltoszovetseg.hu