US Trade Agency awards USD 400,000 grant to improve Romania’s emergency response system

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a USD 400,000 grant to Romania’s General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (GIES) for a study to evaluate technologies deployed during field emergency response operations, according to the agency. The grant was signed last week at the the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest by U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Duane C. Butcher on behalf of USTDA, and General Inspector for Emergency Situations, Colonel Marcel Lucaciu, on behalf of GIES. “Portable communications technologies are necessary to further improve Romania’s emergency response systems, which is a priority for the Romanian government,” according to the USTDA Director Leocadia Zak. The study is made in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the following three core technologies through portable deployment, namely critical information management systems, geographical information systems, and interoperable communications, according to the agency. The feasibility study will be carried out by ESi Acquisition, Inc., based in Augusta, Georgia. Romania is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe, and has experienced serious damage from flooding and earthquakes over the last several years. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)