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Firefighters' Day was marked, on Tuesday, by a ceremony organized at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, with President Klaus Iohannis highlighting firefighters' activity in support of communities, as well as the importance of strengthening the integrated intervention system in Romania.
"Throughout time, firefighters have selflessly fulfilled their missions and demonstrated that they are a stable and strong support for civil society and communities. Professionalism and seriousness were the prerequisites for the trust that firefighters enjoy today from the citizens. Your role has grown year by year, acquiring new valences. From an institution focused on firefighting, you have managed to transform yourself into a universal intervention and rescue institution, which now far exceeds the responsibilities you had three decades ago. The population relies a lot on you, regardless of the nature of the challenge or the disaster that threatens the communities," said the head of state, at the ceremony organized in the courtyard of the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.
According to the president, strengthening the cooperation of the firefighters with the other structures within the Ministry of National Defense, especially with the Romanian Air Force, is a necessity and a mandatory course of action for the development of the integrated system in the medium and long term.
Klaus Iohannis appreciated the participation of the Romanian firefighters in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which was established in the summer of 2022 through the aid granted to France and Greece, but he also noted the contribution of the firefighters in managing the flow of Ukrainian refugees entering the territory of Romania.
Moreover, the president congratulated the first aid team of the Inspectorate of Emergency Situations Bucharest - Ilfov for the 1st place obtained at the "World Rescue Challenge" competition.
At the end of the ceremony, he visited the Mobile Emergency Response Training Center of the population which has the first simulator for training the population in case of fires or disasters.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, the presidential adviser Ion Oprisor, Secretary of the Supreme Council of National Defense [CSAT] Mihai Somordolea.
During the event, the President decorated Colonel Buhaianu Mihai Cristian-Mihai with the Order of "Manhood and Faith" in the rank of Knight, with military insignia, as a sign of "appreciation for the outstanding results obtained in the international assistance mission in the French Republic" and Lieutenant-Colonel David Ion-Dorel Valeriu-Dan with the Order of "Manhood and Faith" in the rank of Knight, with military insignia, as a sign of "appreciation for the remarkable results obtained within the national module specialized in extinguishing forest fires in the Hellenic Republic".AGERPRES
