Romanian firefighters have completed their first wildfire response mission in France this week, helping local authorities contain a vegetation and forest fire in the Aude department as part of a European civil protection deployment. The operation marks Romania's participation in the EU's wildfire pre-positioning program in France throughout July.

According to Romania's General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), the Romanian wildfire firefighting module was deployed on the night of July 1 to July 2 to assist French authorities in tackling a blaze near the town of Pouzols-Minervois in southern France.

The Romanian firefighters operated in sectors assigned by the French authorities, contributing to efforts to contain the fire and protect homes threatened by the advancing flames.

“The mission was carried out under particularly challenging conditions, with strong winds, rugged terrain and very dense vegetation contributing to the rapid spread of the flames and the emergence of multiple fire hotspots,” IGSU said.

The Romanian team deployed three wildfire engines, a 10,000-liter fire engine, a 30,000-liter water tanker, and a radio communications vehicle. More than 500 firefighters took part in the operation overall, including 23 members of the Romanian module.

Following the intervention, the crews and equipment returned to their operational base to restore readiness for future missions, one of which was carried out on July 2.

Romania's wildfire module is taking part in the European Commission's pre-positioning program organized by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) between July 1 and July 31. The initiative is designed to strengthen France's capacity to respond to vegetation and forest fires, reduce emergency response times, and improve interoperability among participating countries.

Romania's first contingent consists of 40 firefighters equipped with three 3,000-liter wildfire engines, a 10,000-liter fire engine, a 30,000-liter tanker, a command vehicle, a drone, a radio communications vehicle, a minibus, and a logistics support container. A second contingent of 40 firefighters is scheduled to replace the first team on July 16.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/IGSU - Inspectoratul General pentru Situatii de Urgenta, Romania)