Over 30 Romanian firefighters are participating Tuesday in extinguishing a forest fire that broke out in Narbonne, a locality approximately 100 km from the operational base of the Romanian rescuers deployed in France.
"More than 30 rescuers, with a first-response and command vehicle, two 3,000-litre forest fire trucks, a high-capacity fire truck (10,000 liters), a tanker, and a shortwave radio vehicle, are intervening alongside their French counterparts to contain and limit the flames, which are affecting an area of over 2,000 hectares," reports the Press Office of the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU).
The mission is being carried out under the direct coordination of a French liaison officer and aims to protect residential properties and clear access roads blocked by trees felled by fire and wind.
According to the forecast for Tuesday, the risk of forest fires is high in the Pyrénées-Orientales Department.
Between July 1 and July 31, the Department for Emergency Situations within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through IGSU, is participating with a national wildfire firefighting module as part of a pre-positioning programme organised by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Directorate-General (DG ECHO). The goal is to strengthen the resilience of French authorities in managing such risks.
"The purpose of the programme is to reduce response time in case of forest fires, to improve training efficiency for intervention modules from EU member states, and to enhance interoperability among the participating forces," the source mentions.
The activation and operation of the specialist wildfire extinguishing module is carried out to execute specific monitoring and fire suppression missions on French territory, in locations designated by French partners.
Comentează