Romanian firefighters deployed on pre-positioning missions in the French Republic and the Hellenic Republic continued on Thursday to support the local authorities by carrying out monitoring, patrol and firefighting operations under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

According to a press release issued by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) and sent to AGERPRES on Friday, in France the Romanian module continued supplying water to French fire engines operating in mountainous areas that are difficult to access, at altitudes of approximately 500 to 700 metres. The operations were aimed at extinguishing hidden hotspots and preventing the rekindling of vegetation and forest fires amid strengthening winds and a persistently high risk of fire spread. During the night, Romanian firefighters also continued patrol and monitoring missions in high-risk areas in order to detect potential hotspots at an early stage and prevent them from developing.

In Greece, the Romanian module carried out a patrol mission in the Schinia National Park, one of the protected natural areas considered to be at high risk of vegetation fires. During the patrol, the crews identified and inspected water supply points along the route, testing the functionality of hydrants to ensure a rapid response in the event of an emergency, the press release said.

The Inspectorate also reported that the Romanian firefighters paid a working visit to the operational base of the Greek Fire Service in the Nea Makri area. The visit was intended to facilitate the exchange of experience and strengthen cooperation between the operational teams participating in the pre-positioning programme.

'After returning to the operational base, the module's personnel took part in a presentation delivered by liaison officers from the Greek authorities, during which the vegetation fire that occurred in 2018 in the area of Mati, Attica Region, was analysed, together with the main lessons learned from the incident. The discussions highlighted the measures implemented afterwards to improve emergency management and enhance the effectiveness of the operational response,' the press release added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Mihai Stoica; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)

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