ForFirEx 2019 exercise teaching how to work together in case of major forest fires

The ForFirEx 2019 exercise is a very important exercise to all those involved in its unfolding because in the event of a major forest fire a complex intervention is needed, in which several institutions with responsibilities in this line of duty co-operate, senior emergency official Raed Arafat said on Thursday at Lunca Cernii, Hunedoara County, where one of the military camps is located.

"It is a very important exercise because it teaches [people] how to work together. This is a collaborative exercise. In the event of a major forest fire, more forces have to work together, because no force can do it alone," said the head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU).

According to him, the theme of the exercise is related to the fact that, as a result of climate change, increasingly more forest fires have emerged even in countries where these did not happen in the past. Arafat noted that in Romania, the number of forest fires also increased during the past year.

He mentioned that he saw good co-operation among rescue teams, noting, at the same time, the presence of volunteer teams, including amateur radio operators, about which he said they had an important role in an area devoid of communications networks.

In terms of equipment, the DSU chief mentioned it has recently come in, having been purchased on European funds.

Over 250 firefighters, mountain rescue teams, gendarmes, foresters, volunteers with canine teams, amateur radio operators, volunteers with all-terrain vehicles and IGAv pilots from seven Romanian counties took part in the ForFirEx 2019 forest fire suppression missions.

Deemed the most complex forest fire drill so far conducted in Romania, it was designed to mimic real conditions as close as possible. That involved complex operations to suppress three forest litter and dead timber fires that would have spread over about 80 hectares of land in the area of Dosul Odaii, the town of Lunca Cernii de Jos, Hunedoara County.